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Zubair Hussaini Apr 2012
I want it all.
I have a craving for what this world has to offer
and I'm daring to see if it'll be fulfilled.
Yes, shiny baubles and warm sensations
bring them all.
But I also want the depths of human experience
I want love
I want meaning and purpose
To answer to higher call while knowing none exists

Do my words sound cryptic?
As well they should.
Language, poetry, fiction
All are imperfect means of communicating the breadth of consciousness.
They are tools our ancestors created haphazardly,
Quite by accident
In search of reassurance and comfort
In the coldness of existence.

This modicum of life cannot be grasped entirely by any
Save sages and scholars some say.
Mystics and dabblers they are.
Life is not viewed from a single lens.
Would you stare at your lover only through photograph from afar?
Life requires mixing and intersplicing to bear any examination at all

So once again I ask, do my words sound cryptic to you?
I sure hope they do because I hold no answers.
Those I learned long ago are quickly dispersing
with who knows what else
and all to no avail
Zubair Hussaini Apr 2012
I'm drunk again
And don't know why
Don't even enjoy this high
Seeking escape has never
tasted quite so bleak
as a bottle of ***

What to seek?
What to find?
Am I expanding my mind?
Or silencing what's inside
To write ****** poetry
In an attempt to understand
My inner self's complexity

I'm trying so hard to avoid using the word I
but it's hard when I've abandoned every
notion of universal truth
and fled to this
realm of personal value
that none can dispute

Philosophical barriers
And existential angst
Nihilistic apathy
And the temerity of
too much education
haven't brought me happiness
nor confidence and yet I still
implore my mind for perseverance
towards truth
in the blind hope that honesty
will lead, if not to ecstasy,
At least something other
than bland, half-hearted mediocrity

But these thoughts are all abstractions
Even if they are the foundations for
the straw and bale of my actions
How near my daily deeds
could they possibly stray?

Drugs, *** and insignificance
are the trio of troubles that burden my waking moments.
I know I can be so much more than what I am
I have wit, imagination, and ability
far exceeding my peers
But I lack determination or passion
To mold myself nearer perfection
And overthrow these hurdles

But even then, nothing would be good enough
Not these women, nor these drugs
Not my ministrations, nor these verses
And surely never myself

It's time to put down my pen
For now I'm only half-drunk
And ingenuity requires either clarity
from sobriety or quite a bit more toxicity
Apr 2012 · 801
Love
Zubair Hussaini Apr 2012
I've asked myself so many times
in the midst of questioning, doubting,
fumbling, feeling, crying or smiling,

What is love?

It's timidly daring to believe in feelings unsaid
When you first notice the glimmer of a stutter
in your voice or start hedging your words
when she's brought up
When you start dreaming of what you'd say
or everything you'd do to get her to notice you

It's a never-ending pain that steals away your sleep
and siphons your self-esteem when its taken away
by fate, calamity or to another man's bed
The nights you race to stay awake never quite seem to abet
the weight pressing in on your chest
You'll grow to regret time you'll call wasted
And hate the absence of trivial insignificance
Life will seem pointless, unbearable and cruel
Without another to provide your days fuel

It's a burning desire that starts with a whisper
a touch, maybe a kiss
Races through till your mind is parched
Nothing remaining but thoughts of
curves,
moans,
release

It's a silent compromise
that you'll never dare tell
with no one privy except yourself
Looking from afar at the object of your desire
you'll build them up into perfection
while the world seems to put up a million obstructions
telling you she's out of reach, too good
and obviously not interested
It might be fear, obligation, friendship
Any number of things will stand in the way
and let you punish yourself
through and through
for as long as you want to

It's an unstoppable joy
No one can deny
When the arrow flies true
Not walls of concrete
Nor carpets of glue
Will stop you from smiling
at thoughts of the things you'll do
The sky could be purple,
coriander, or just plain blue
Neither of you will care one bit
Or even have a clue
All that matters is right there
in front of you
When you finally say
I do

It's the defining facet of
just what it means to be human
Cynics often scoff and say
"Grow up and stop thinking with your ****"
But love is so much more than primal urges
So much more than a meager thrusting and grasping
It encompasses the anticipation of wondering
The exuberance of knowing
It drives men to create, instigate and fabricate
the heights and depths of humanity
Love is all around
In every form from unhealthy to divine
From bold to half-hearted
From heartbreak to just started
Love is all around
Or its absence is sharply found

I know all this now and I've barely scratched the surface
Compared to all others, in this field I'm just a novice
With everything I've said
And everything I've heard
This I still can't answer,

Is love for me?
Sep 2011 · 1.3k
Scissors and Glue
Zubair Hussaini Sep 2011
Me without you
Is like scissors without glue
I can cut everything in two
But it takes you to build it up anew

Being with you brings out the best in me
My mood, my passions and even the world I see
flare to life, more vibrant and lovely
than I ever thought they could be

You see, you and me, we're two of a kind
So put your fingers through mine
And let's plan to find
happiness for all time

Because all I know is
Me without you
Just wouldn't do
Sep 2011 · 1.0k
A Confession
Zubair Hussaini Sep 2011
You call me a friend,
So listen to me blather
And splatter, as I pretend
I can mend just what's
left of my heart

Do you see my father up there?
Because I don't.
He's as ethereal as the clouds passing by
Nonsensical, whimsical, unethical
But more than that, absent

Do you see all these people passing by?
I do.
I stare at every one
Hoping for a lover, a friend or even an enemy
Anything familiar or functional.
I just need someone to put their hand out
And who gives a **** what it's for
I sure as hell won't ask
I just need to be touched

Do you see your face in the mirror?
I sure as hell can
It's the face that haunts my every thought
I don't know if this is love or obsession
But either way, I can't get you to leave
me with your affection
I know this isn't how it's supposed to go
But how can I say no
To love, in spite of all the sorrow

Do you see me?
Because I'm not sure he's there
You see the show
All glitter and glow
Me when I'm strong
Not when I'm wrong
I see me through a veil
Only partly there
I see the good
And the pain
But there's plenty I miss

I want to see
I want parents who care
I want relationships that can weather the wear
I want you to be there
I'm petty, greedy
And ever so needy
I'm scared and spiteful
and even hurtful
But never mindful
of what I really need

So now do you see?
This is me
weak and foolish
And not at all
who I want to be
Jul 2011 · 799
Someone, Anyone, Everyone
Zubair Hussaini Jul 2011
I feel like I'm wasting away my life yearning for love
Discontent with normalcy
I want to soar atop the waves of desire
Feel my heart pound at the possibilities
And have my veins course with thoughts of someone else

No matter where I end up
I'd rather thrill through the valleys of my heart
Than live my life in temerity
Afraid of anyone else

At least, that's what I tell myself
It's a shame my actions shout another story
Trapped in the past
Not knowing how to let go
Hoping for another chance
I'm closing off everyone else

And so I'm left yearning, hurting, and wondering
How I came to waste my heart away
Apr 2011 · 779
Honestly Ugly
Zubair Hussaini Apr 2011
I look at what others create
And  if I'm to be quite honest
There is little there I can appreciate

All I see are children and sages
Leaving my intellect yawning
or befuddled in mazes

Jealousy and pride
Have walled me in
But it's alright
Because my own elegance
Brightens the night.
Mar 2011 · 409
Learning to Feel
Zubair Hussaini Mar 2011
It feels like I can't breathe
And I won't tell me why
No matter how he pleads
Maybe I miss the light from your eyes
Maybe my sanity's said goodbye


And as quick as they came,
The
      demons
                  are
                       gone
                              again.


The ennui rushes in
And I whisper - I'll heal
I'll run from being comfortably numb,
Ignore the dreadfully appealing
Idea of hiding from feeling

All that I can do,
But what terrifies me
Are the thoughts of you.
Feb 2011 · 836
Where Did the Scenery Go?
Zubair Hussaini Feb 2011
Dead on the inside
I can't conjure any inspiration
to lift my imagination
from this barren plain

Searching for stimulation
I've stumbled across enunciation
In those rare moments
when the torrent of my heart overflows

But now my chest is  lacking
since all the valleys and hills have been flattened.
In the mountains where my muse reposed
All that remains are empty paths of prose

So I'll write.
Where once I put pen to screen
to catch my screams
Now I'll clatter away to
Escape the doldrum of emotional boredom
Aug 2010 · 708
Flight
Zubair Hussaini Aug 2010
I could fly if I
tried ○ To where fey delight
lies ○ And in the moonlight
rest before ascending higher yet



Fair or foul, none would elsewhere
stare ○ Because see, I am up there
bare ○ Dizzying dives of despair
shared ○ While breathtaking climbs, with flair,
part cloudy veils



Oh, how my wings would, like the sun's echo,
glow ○ Sparkling eyes would the course of tomorrow
know ○ And with nary a care, choose to forego
woe ○ I'd swoop and swirl and soar, to through shadow,
flow ○ And still dancing unmoored, dare to follow
dreams yet undreamt.



I could fly if only I tried
All the way to where happiness lies
But why bother
When all that rises must falter
Dec 2009 · 646
Now I Know To Say No
Zubair Hussaini Dec 2009
Just the other day, it seems
I was taking a stroll
Betwixt my thoughts and dreams
When I came upon a hole.

Careless and morose,
I wandered too close.

Stumbling!
Oh!
Tumbling!
Woe!

Such a cursed downward trip.
Grasping, clasping, clutching,
The slick sides refused my grip,
And I slipped; lost touch.

Tired and resigned,
My mind went blind.

Descent!
Oh!
Torment!
Woe!

Yet, the world appeared quite clear,
Though my temper was black.
I saw how frightfully drear
wound the future's track.

Frantic, I panicked
At my droll edict.

Penance!
Oh.
Silence...
Woe?

A quaint distraction found me,
And reached out to console.
Insipid pastimes found me,
And filled up the hole.

At last my thoughts, free,
Yet my dreams, empty.

Rescue!
...
Relief!
...
So
...
?

Now I know
I'm my own foe.
Now I know
When he beckons,

Just
say
no.
Dec 2009 · 1.9k
Unique
Zubair Hussaini Dec 2009
Out in public
With a friend,
With a brother,
With a lover,
It's all the same

When your soul is sick,
When it won't mend,
When the truth smothers,
Then you'll discover
It's all the same.

"Be stoic,"
"Pretend,"
They blather.
No. Never.
I'm not the same.
Zubair Hussaini Dec 2009
Life's an illusion.
A facade of actions.
So to sleep, I'm bidden.
And from friends I hasten,
Towards self-destruction.

I think.
I feel.
And yet it all seems unreal.

I blink.
I breathe.
But beneath, turmoil seethes.

The brink,
I face.
And failing, to repose I race.

I shrink.
I shun.
But it's from myself I run.

I sink.
I rend.
And into oblivion I descend.
Dec 2009 · 868
Unconscious Hallucinations
Zubair Hussaini Dec 2009
My!, oh my, what is happening to my perception?
Why!, oh why, would it falsely whisper so?
Fie!, just fie, then. Evermore, its suggestions I'll shun.
Cry!, I cry, since it's the world I forgo.

Eyes!, oh eyes, could you please unveil these strange sights for me?
Try!, oh try, to remove this misty crown.
Lies!, just lies, I judge from everything that I see.
Sigh!, I sigh, for the world is upside-down.
Dec 2009 · 1.8k
Bike Ride
Zubair Hussaini Dec 2009
--------
My knuckles have turned to white,
From gripping the bar so tight.
Plunging ever faster through the night,
I abandon all - restraint, fear, sight.
                         ----
Bouncing blindly, I grimace,
Not from pain, but sudden bliss.
The pang of perception leaves me breathless,
Was I really so faithless to miss this?
                           --
I see now what I've forgot,
That my worry's all for naught.
Trust in that eternal, stems the onslaught
Of uncertainty with which life is fraught.
                            -
Dec 2009 · 754
Friendship?
Zubair Hussaini Dec 2009
What new friends does the day bring?
One for one thousand acquainted.
Still, how true does friendship ring?
False as rusted steel is tainted.

Peer past the pretense of pleasantry.
Pursue the pith of their personality.
Perchance, you'll perceive the palsied glee
Pervading the pact you protect so passionately.

Friendship, true and bright,
I am afraid doesn't exist.
Not tonight, nor in any light.
It's era, we've missed.

Do we then despair?
Simply lay down and cry?
Nay, from life we won't shy,
This world's ours to bear.

Yet a burden more wondrous, a task more joyous
I dare you to find. Duty that eases the mind.
If for an age you discuss, it can't be done, thus
Rejoice ye mankind, your fate is far from maligned.
Dec 2009 · 728
Poetry Inspired By Hunger
Zubair Hussaini Dec 2009
My soul is starving
With my spirit striving
And my consciousness contriving
For death's arriving

Heaven proclaims, my soul is starving
For even though faith resides aplenty
Of all else, I am barren and empty
For even though faith burns strong and brightly
My every action speaks contrary
Heaven proclaimed, my soul should starve.

I truly feel my spirit striving
For sweet surcease and release from the grind
To leave mortal limitations behind
For change or escape, no matter the kind
To rush to a fate, others feel resigned.
I truly felt my spirit strive.

Hopefully my consciousness contrives
For is not cessation of self, weakness
Silly, disregarding, childish quaintness
And it must be selfish to seek solace.
At the expense of kin's caring caress.
Hopelessly my consciousness contrived.

Now my soul has starved.
And my spirit has strived.
But no matter how much my consciousness contrived.
Peace has arrived.

— The End —