24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
Night
draws the
curtain of
stars lit by the
lantern of moonshine
and lullaby of the
sailing breeze captures the sleep,
the sparkling streams cascade into
ripples that gurgle against the rocks
as playful fireflies retreat behind trees.
The movies promised it would be pretty
Reds, yellows and oranges would colour the scenery
Leaves would glitter the floor
And crunch satisfyingly under my feet
I don’t know why, but I thought apples would be involved
I didn’t believe them when they told me
The Autumn would be bleak
But it certainly was
Sure, there were reds, yellows and oranges at first
But nothing looked pretty under the heavy grey sky
The leaves did not crunch when they were perpetually soaked wet by rain
The wind so cold it pierced my soul
The sun was nowhere to be found
I found out seasonal depression is a real thing
Considering no one wants to be out and about
To think the weather could suck out so much life from a city
I enjoyed myself though
The novelty of my first Autumn in the North
A gloomy day meant I was experiencing life as a Swede
And more stories to share with my audience
Back home in the tropics.
There isn’t always
a tunnel
for light to come through.
At times it shines
above you
through the trees.
We are so focused
on what’s ahead
forgetting
to look up.
an elliptical — a time capsule
emptying the abyss
leaving a silence of utter stillness.
The space left
a starry sky
lighting up the atmosphere.
when the time capsule reverses
are we going back, forward, or far far away?
perhaps we stay put
only to see, to feel, to touch
our own mirroring of life
Reflection on a ice, glass surface
snug between two almonds.
Mirroring images
Take a breath.
Breathe!
inhaled a crisp chilly clear of a night.
Tasted like freshwater
gave your body —
full of life.
You can tell when a woman has been through a lot, it’s the weariness of her face.
The erasure of her smile replaced with a blank stare.
She isn’t broken just tired of the lies.
Don’t mistake or assume her demise.
She hasn’t lost hope.
Hope just sits around the corner waiting to hear back from a wait list that never gets shorter but continues to grow day by day.
Using the strength she has to rise from her pillow only to allow her head to fall in that same place night after night.
Worrying if her children can sleep without the lights.
Tears no longer fall from her eyes.
She learned those drops didn’t change the fact that her baby has to eat.
Watching her own dreams become obsolete.
A numbness washes over her body as she lays submerged in the water.
Cleansing her aching bones and reviving her relentless spirit.
You see her everyday working in the office next to you, sitting in her car in traffic, or standing at the bus stop.
She maybe feeding her children an orange while waiting under a stop sign holding a family in need sign.
She is the prayer, the plea and the redemption.
Her resilience echoes a vibration the universe cannot deny it can only supply and fulfill her desperate needs.
I barely knew you
But I learned–
Oh I learned all about
you
and I learned well
I met you in church
Interesting place to meet
someone you could spend
forever with
I learned your secrets
as you did mine
we learned what made
the other tick
Ssshh don’t tell anyone that
secret-
they’d ostracize us both
I’m afraid
gossip about us
treat us like lepers
I knew you were married
But I considered you a friend
someone I could bounce ideas
off of-
that wouldn’t call me
dumb
silly
childish
or otherwise ridicule me
I don’t know when it changed
I would message you constantly
ask you how your day was
I couldn’t wait to hear back
I don’t know if this is one sided
I don’t know if you feel the same
I know I can’t do anything about it
I can’t even tell you.
There’s a question I have
and you can’t give me the answer
how could you?
You’d have to know the question first
How did I fall in love with you?
This boat moves like magic,
a simple push with the oar
and I am floating through the stars.
Beloved, we are here just now
and time is fleeting.
Let us row together through
the moonlight.
The lullaby suggests we will return
but the fable casts a murkier truth.
The light scatters across the lake,
inviting us into the darkness.
I have a plan for us.
When the sun sets and all is quiet
We’ll steal a boat and sail upon the lake
We’ll bring a lantern a blanket, and ourselves
and lay looking up at the stars in its hull.
“I have a plan for us,” I’ll whisper,
and you’ll be none the wiser,
that this plan is already in motion.
“Take my hand, and you can join me in the stars,”
You’ll look over and giggle, but I’ll mean it.
We can go anywhere in the world together,
but we’ll need to do it tonight.
And if the sun rises and the boat is empty
I’ll know that you love me
As much as I love you, the stars, and the universe.
But if it rises and we’re still there, I’ll know
that not all love is the kind I hold in my heart
for you, who makes me want to be human.
And that’s okay.
No matter how you answer,
I have a plan for us.
The boat drifted on a stunning sea of stars
But it was not lost, not in this heart of ours
Sad to say farewell to a love with me til last breath
Who gazed into the heavens to show me joy beyond death
Her curious eye saw wisdom in the absurdity of the day
With a sturdy mind she kept the fools and naysayers at bay
As the boat drifts to the shiny horizon I won’t forget
The joy she gifted me from the fateful day we met
It was soft once for it
believed in old adages,
good begets good, justice will be served
and the likes.
But day after day, its belief was torn to shreds,
honesty was ridiculed, thieves were rewarded,
fools were celebrated and monsters emerged victorious.
It hardened gradually, it learned slowly
That the kind and fair no longer had place in this world.
-Prachi S