Kash Baloch — Poetry on Identity, Love, and Survival

Am I a fool to ask myself if a rose with any other name would smell as sweet, as the beauty that you possess, that causes me to endlessly concede to my defeat. The wonderful taste of success comes to mind, as I envision our future, so unique and one of a kind. It will be brilliant, full of majesty and glory; as you put your hands in mine and allow my hands to write our story. Like a tempest, you unwind me and enrapture my emotions, causing me to feel divine. You are the biggest temptress as you seduce me with your love, chocolate lacks the same effect; you are royalty in your own right as you have won me over, commanding the utmost respect. Many before you tried to tame the beast within and failed, ran away dejectedly with their cowardliness unveiled. You have captured my heart and set it in stone, saved me from a destiny that promised to bury me alone. Your smile rises every morning, providing the world with light. Your eyes, the sole prize that fill my heart with such delight. The co...

I consistently ask myself whether I should fight or flee, the endless torrents of misery that threaten to take over me. In the squalid heat I find it difficult to breathe, as the thickened smog seeps into my lungs, and I slip further down life's ladder's rungs. I dry my eyes and wring my hands, sorrow has wreaked havoc on my once Utopian land. The trees no longer bear fruit, they are as barren as my empty womb. Flowers no longer blossom, instead they wither and wilt, giving up and giving in to the emptiness they feel within. Darkened are my skies, as the sun hides and refuses to rise for a world forsaken by its own, left to feel the wrath of reckless abandonment all alone. The undertones of guilt wash ashore and tease dry earth with water, though that is all that it is yearning for. Greys and monochromes poison the air filling it with cyanide, as the promises of prosperity succumb to the venom of it all and die. Acid rain pours from the clouds, as my thoughts have become so lou...

Our love was such a farce, it had the power to entertain jesters. They would laugh for hours at the ridiculous charade that we displayed for far too long. All the romance gone, like a nightingale murdered mid song. How foolish of us to pretend that we could have ever been anything more than fair weather friends. I was so desperate to be loved that I attached myself to your dark soul, assuming erstwhile that you would somehow make me whole. You keep repeating that I need you, refusing to see that I have grown into my own; I am now a man that has no qualms about walking a mile alone. My love could never feed your unquenchable thirst. After I have left, the replacements you find for me will become increasingly worse. As history has shown us, I will always be at the top of your list. I showered you with endless love, yet you still claim to have never been kissed. Much to your contrition, this demolition was all of your accursed volition. My only sin was self love, you would have rather tha...

I stumbled through the deserts in search of water and advice, as vultures circled above me I prayed that my life would be sacrificed. I thought I was trading up, but instead I lost it all. Like a mirage you appeared and I was hungrily enthralled. The scorching heat of misery burns my aching back. Losing you was far too painful, similar to a heart attack. I thought that I was full of wisdom but I was really just a fool. You were the stick that broke my back and I was your mule. I swam out to sea to save you from drowning of the path of your volition. You distracted me with your lies as you prepared your ammunition. Like a magician, you held me spellbound and veiled my eyes to conceal the truth. You blackened my heart and stole my youth, stripped me bare and told me that I was uncouth. I naively believed that our paths were aligned, until you shot me with your bullets and made me feel the hopeless emptiness that is mankind. Shots rang out throughout the world, as you trampled on my heart...

I tried to be assertive, to give all that I had to give. But you ripped out my insides, made me lose my will to live. I ran out of the fight so long ago, like a boxer whose retired, no longer a pro. I bid my friends adieu, as I submitted solely to you. Played the game you loved so much, only to feel the smoldering burn of your fiery touch. The desire to continue in this foolish escapade, rots my stomach and makes it turn like a poisoned game of charades. Your love was a revolver and I was your easy target, life became so much harder as I retaliated against the venom that you would spit. I persisted in my attempts to break the chains that were so binding, but alas my efforts were in vain as our bittersweet love story kept unwinding. I was just trying to love you, yet my efforts were to no avail. Your elusive symphony was orchestrated and successful without fail. You made it much too difficult for such an unrequited love to prevail. You drank greedily of my wine as violinists desperately...

Caught in a rapture, yet I still feel so alone. Restlessly searching for someone to fill your throne. I cry as I fall and awaken from my dreams, cover my ears to avoid the sounds of my own screams. I am accursed as you drag me to Hell, I pray to the lord to remove this wicked spell. It binds my joints to one another, makes me feel as if I am being smothered. I was the strongest once, I could have been a contender. Instead I smile insipidly, and remain a mere pretender. I envisioned a future full of glamour, so divine; red carpets, Swiss chocolates, chartered jets and the finest wines. Contrarily I am left so bereft, you committed grand theft as you robbed me of the last amounts of love that I had yet to give. Now that they are gone, how am I expected to continue to live? The smile on my face melted off, and smelted; like stained glass, you wear it in your palm. With much aplomb, I enter my tomb, offer alms to those deprived, as I exit life's womb. I am no longer your prisoner, I ha...