Kash Baloch — Poetry on Identity, Love, and Survival

You were held captive, like an injured bird in my cage. You were too often the victim of my misdirected rage. I do not know how to act in this purgatorial stage, as our love was once so magical as if enchanted by a sage. I look into your eyes and see that they are ablaze. Yet I feign ignorance and pretend that you are not phased. I hypnotized you with my lies and left you mesmerized in a daze. If I could turn back time, I would rewind to when you were still amazed. I tore your heart to pieces, as shrapnel filled the air. I am beguiled and inveigled by your unforgiving stare. Like a child you are so pure, no other can compare. I just cannot accept that this is the end of our torrid love affair. You saved me from the darkness that threatened to devour me whole. My Notre Dame has fallen as its bell has ceased to toll. Justice must be served for your happiness that I continuously stole. You are my sole source of sustenance as I drink from your bowl. My hair falls out in clumps as I grieve ...

A thousand years in love could never compare, tell me how am I supposed to breathe with no air? My lungs are filling with water, watch me from the shore as I helplessly drown. The permanence of my actions is too much to bear, I am hopeless as it all falls down. There goes the time that we invested, even though I never treated you the best. I should have seen that I was blessed, instead of thinking that I was possessed. How fortunate I was to have seen the sun rise within your eyes. I fought your love as if it were a tumour that would lead to my demise. I encountered a beauty so pure and sacrosanct, on which I should have banked, instead of choosing to walk the plank. I jumped to my death as the sea was filled with hungry sharks, piranhas ravaged my skin and now my world is nothing, if not dark. If only I had appreciated the light that you omit, I am certain that this love would have been something that you permit. I erased your smile, and villainously turned it into a frown. In the end...

I lost my self control as jealousy weaved its ugly course. You often attempted to console me, even though we were divorced. Our hearts have detached, the circulation of our love has reached its toll. Wrinkles have replaced the smile that loneliness conquered and stole. I thought that we were immortal, that nothing could come in between. I foolishly refused to acknowledge all the hostility that was unseen. You captured me in your hands, I did not want to let go. Now that we have separated, I cannot help but feel so alone. Death's hand caresses my neck, massages the knots inside my back. It seduces me with its promises of paradise and release from this cold and bitter world. Instead I turn the other cheek, and hide in my oyster like a delicate pearl. I seek shelter from the truth, would much rather live a lie. My selfish demand for your love was greater than your meagre supply. I will watch you from the Heavens, guide your way when you are lost. No longer damaged or destroyed, I paid...