My camera has auto focus; switch it on, point, press -
It focuses on its own
All you have to do is to press down all the way.
Of late, the auto focus doesn't work.
I pull the focus ring manually, forward and backward
It never focuses sharply.
This is the only camera I have; guess I will have to live
With images blurred.
To buy a new one is not an option
Till the next life, if there is one.
But I do take out my camera everyday
Brush it and blow away the dust
Tweak it here and there
Imagine sharp and clear images.
One day, it might snap back to life.
A traveler never forgets
The trees that gave him shade.
A traveler never forgets
The streams that quenched his thirst.
The paths he trod
The winds he rode
The grass he slept
The rocks he leant.
To remember and to be grateful
Is the way of the traveler true.
And –
The trees and streams,
The paths and breeze
The grass and rocks-
They too, will remember him.
As he passes-
My friend! What brought us together?
Was it the love for each other’s presence?
Was it the comfort in each other’s being?
Was it the glow in our eyes and hearts?
Was it the joy, the warmth and mirth
Was it regard, respect, the reason
Or was it because we just felt at ease?
Was it just the way we were?
Weren’t there times when it came to an end,
Weren’t there moments when we flew apart?
Why to each other did we take
Why each did we value, more than others?
What made you my friend, my friend?
What was the chemistry, what was the fusion?
What, pray tell me you see in me
What made you say I am your friend?
Enjoying nature
Enjoying forests, birds and the breeze
Enjoying music, reading, traveling
Enjoying looking, listening, feeling, touching –
I realize -
More than this joyful spread before me
More joyous is this gift, so special,
To find joy, to discover beauty
In matters all, piddling and profound.
Deprived, denied of everything
Of riches, of senses
Even in darkness I will remember
The light, oh life, you shed on me.
I will hope and wait
With the glow of happy memories
Warming, keeping me alive.
Laying in a hospital bed,
Fighting to stay alive,
Friends and family preparing for the worst,
Odds against me to survive,
My eyes close,
Images then appear,
A multitude of memories,
As I hear my mother in tears,
Obstacles presented everyday,
One hurdle after another,
Tripping and falling to the ground,
Scraped, bloodied, but refusing to lie down,
From complications at birth,
To epilepsy at 4,
A man stealing my innocence,
A grand mal and brain tumor,
Pushed into a dark hole,
Unable to find my way out,
Farther down the hole I fall,
Not knowing when I'll stop,
Numbness fills my body,
Pain has overtaken me,
Unable to walk, travel, work,
Wishing I was unable to breathe,
I fall further down the hole,
My mood does likewise,
Seemingly hitting rock bottom,
Until I saw your face,
A light shines through,
A rope is thrown down,
As I climb to the top,
What I felt was lost has been found,
In the bright yet seemingly so dim evening lights, the crowded city's empty.
It is lonely here without you. And yet without you I wouldn't have noticed that.
Funny how the city oh-so crowded can be so hollow.
Empty.
Void.
Blank.
A white canvas.
(Opportunities?)
You overflow all that space with so much vivacity. So much life. And love and warmth and playfulness! So much of you takes over so very little of this.
And lack of you is a surprise.
It completely surpasses me that I'm just about to hit a lamppost, that I'll crash into people walking the opposite way.
But the realization of this absence causes me to lift my sight, making me aware, perceptive.
It's hard to realize, but it is needed.
they say slow and steady wind the race,
but i've never known slow.
and i've never known steady.
but i have had to race.
not listening to that one simple sentence saved my life.
Jumping into us saved me
Saved me from me.
what are you living for?
a question that i have heard too many times to count
how do i answer a question that has no answer
it's what i would have said if you had asked me just 4 months ago.
but just when i was ready to jump
ready to do something i couldn't undo,
i heard the most beautiful noise i had ever heard
her voice
as soon as her voice echoed in my ear
suddenly everything was clear.
it's all uphill from here.
the water weighed above my head
every second longing for the surface
the swig of a bottle
or the blade on a wrist
would be enough to breathe again
alas, even when I get to the surface
I float back down to the bottom
the tiles around me scream
and start the vicious cyle again
one day I shan't use the bottle nor blade
but instead wait
and I shall exit the water
and live on land
but every now and then it rains
reminding me of the pool
but I do not surrender to my vices
it's a wonderful thing
when you realise you aren't alone in this world
no matter how empty and depressed you feel
someone else has, or is going through it
sadness draws an invisible line
tying all the 3 am screamers together
when you all realise together that you are all going through the same thing
the most beautiful thing on this Earth happens
it may only last a second
or it may last an hour
but it stays with everyone involved for eternity
you all care for each other
you let the tears and smiles flow freely
because you know you won't be judged, as everyone else is doing the same
so when you feel like the world has shunned you away from everyone
just know that you are all shunned together
I didn’t write this poem to your overshirts & oversized tennis shoes,
Glinting masculine pride & promise.
I didn’t write this poem to admire your curved cheekbones,
Underlining eyes crowded with time, loss, & sleeplessness.
I didn’t write this poem to cause you to call me
And tell me in your DeNiro voice you want my company.
I didn’t write this poem to cause you to text me
Sweet half-threats of tender licentiousness.
I didn’t write this poem to ease your heartache,
Longing for another woman,
Yet another who got away.
I didn’t even write this as an ode to the most brazen creature
I know, a slight female with the
Scariest demeanor in three countries,
A keen eye out for every menace,
Including myself,