Felt.

Time stood still for nary a soul,                    
it dragged its feet, aching and old. 
Blistering heat that made us melt, 
we were once softer than silk felt.

Hallowed hearts wind whistled through,
covered in bruises, black and blue.
Hardly broken, but maybe bent,
running on empty and love spent.

There comes a day in all our lives,
when our failures cut deep as knives.
But you shall remain a triumph,
you stayed with me, like a science.

Words were whispered, curses, we'd shout,
until the blood drained from our mouths.
Yesterday—softer than silk felt;
seems like all we do these days is yell.

Three. Sixty. Five.

I -

Bones rattled and teeth chattered, 

like unwanted shrapnel from some unsavoury stew. 

Smiling whilst administering lethal injections 

that painted both our lips blue—

even Gestapo couldn't be callous like you.

II -

Cleansing rain falls from clouds 

onto my caterwauling heart, 

rescuing it from the extreme state 

where its mouth was blistered and parched. 

Today—I have been granted a fresh start.

III - 

Ablaze again; amazed, by the ways 

I have evolved into a better man. 

Not terracotta delicate but rather, 

resilient as rock. 

Baked but bathing in the beat 

of brilliant song.

IV -

Recycle, reuse, reduce, then rinse, 

and finally repeat. 

The regrowth that left me reborn 

buried itself beneath the Beeches,

and below the streets; 

a cycle come full circle and complete.

V -

With little visibility, 

all I could do was brave whatever lie ahead. 

When all falls down and failure reigns, 

remember even yeast rises again 

it can blossom into bread.

VI -

In the aftermath of my desperation—

once my sorrow's streams dried up like the Sahara. 

I wouldn't resign myself to monochrome. 

I could not surrender to Sepia! 

I opted to explode with vibrancy instead; 

raging reds, orange opulence, 

and you'll-never-forget-me yellows.

Equanimity.

Like the fog protects the sky,
I held you close, with watchful eye.
Incapable of enduring another loss,
as trees mourn leaves slain by the frost.

On bended knee, I gave myself to thee,
only canines know such loyalty.
Like petals perspiring with dew,
there can be no me without you, too.

So, I just dance like second hands,
that measure time, in all the land.
I am the key—you are my lock;
like lyrics in our lover's rock.

Us.

You and I were like Alexander and Genghis Khan—we conquered the entire world;
In your arms I was the oyster,
who proudly displayed his very first pearl.

You and I were giants—no match for Jack and his pitiful magic beans.
I gazed lovingly into your eyes; you were the golden goose of my dreams

You and I were Dostoesvky,
Dickensian when we talked.
But soon enough, we stopped listening,
and all we ever did was fought.

Remember when I was Shah Jahan
and I built you the Taj Mahal?
Your eyes despised it, soon enough,
and you demanded I add another wall.

Do you recall the times I tried to redeem myself with jasmine scented words?
Pretty soon all you did was chastise me
with your acid speech that burned.

You and I could've reached the top of Everest, but all you did was tear down my Great Wall.
I wanted you to be my empress, but you just wanted to watch my empire fall.

Now I am lost for words—my lips have been sealed and then sewn shut;
I just wish we could go back to you and I, instead of left questioning what is what.

Save Your Misery.

Save your misery, to darken someone else's room.
I have had my fill, it's hard to carry on.
Your rainclouds won't go away, they stain the world with gloom.
Please just leave me alone, my sympathy is all gone.

I have had my fill, it's hard to carry on.
You prey on my happiness, and chase away my dreams.
Please just leave me alone, my sympathy is all gone.
Find somebody new to abuse, as I drain the poison from my bloodstream.

You prey on my happiness, and chase away my dreams.
Your rainclouds won't go away, they stain the world with gloom.
Find somebody new to abuse, as I drain the poison from my bloodstream.
Save your misery, to darken someone else's room.

Puzzling.

And he makes me want to carve myself.
Starving from extended winter,
I beckon to you with a finger.
Trembling; my veins fill with splinters.

Wooden slivers cut me from the inside,
I race towards any assistance.
Pressed, I pray for brooding brilliance.
Why do you play my ribs like piano keys.

Signal to you with smoky urgency,
peer into your zippered soul,
through magnifying glass eyes,
I catch you in action.

Hinting at the secret;
the secret code to my hunter heart.
You can access its emotion.
But do not tell the others.

Capture me in your net,
I beach myself on your bed.
You become the shore,
I slap at you lazily, like ocean.

Flowing, we crash into one another.
Resonate within me like cymbals.
I vibrate—cut me in two million pieces.
I win with my hands down.

Hold me in your clammy palm,
then blow me away, like dust.
Just let me scatter.
I yearn to know all the places!

No longer a mortar fortress.
Refined by this scandalous resilience.
These broken embraces can get so jumbled.
Shutter me. Forget my vulnerability anyway.

Estranged.

Everything is changing, coming to an end,
yesterday we were lovers, today we’re hardly friends.

From familiar to strangers, in less than a night,
don’t say you love me anymore, it doesn’t feel right.

Falling to pieces, like shrapnel from the sky,
I have used up all my resources, my tears have run dry.
Take all that you can and go, just leave my side,
as long as you always know, love is stronger than pride.

I am not so weak that I won’t survive,
this is not the first time I’ve had to stay alive,
no, it’s not the first day of my life,
I have felt the worst pain, love’s a knife

Throwing out the pictures I still have of you,
setting fire to the letters that only make me blue,

letting go seems like the only reasonable thing to do,

I cannot keep pretending that I haven’t got a clue.

Separation Anxiety.

The fire burning inside me 
had started to subside,
caught up in memories of a love 
you were unable to provide. 
The light in my eyes flickered, 
and went out without a fight,
causing me to self-destruct; 
how do I survive devoid of sight? 

My blackened heart refuses 
to pick up and resume. 
The guilt you've burdened 
me with continues to consume 
the remnants of my sanity, 
refused to spare my dignity. 
Swallowed in a sea of pity, 
taught a lesson in humility. 

Many years had passed; 
assumed I had regained control;
seemed like it'd been so long 
since I'd been granted parole. 
Not a promise, or a lesson; 
just a disdainful release. 
Content for the longest time, 
I thought I was at peace. 

Yet, you've returned, once again, 
to wreak havoc on my soul. 
Falling apart, scattered in pieces. 
Broken again, love has paid its toll
on my life devastated, 
by the knife you concealed in your spine,
and because of your endless torment. 
Our bodies have separated; no longer entwined.