Of Wrongs and Rights

She felt as though her ribs had shattered
Into a million shark-teeth
That were slowly sinking
Into her ravaged heart
That someone had squeezed
Into a pulp, a bloody, messy pulp
That could be rotting away
Into a stinking bitterness
That smelled pungent, boring
Into her flaring nostrils
That made her eyes pour
Into a tear-stained pillow
That lay beneath her throbbing head.

They said what she felt was wrong

Simply because,
She didn't have the right. 

To and From

I run,

Mostly from things.

I run from people, lest I bump into someone
and hurt them,
Or, get hurt.

I run from responsibilities, lest they become
nothing but an anglomeration
Of burdens and liabilities.

I run from love, lest
It happened to me.

But all I wanted was to run to something,
That something being something like you.

Labour Pains

"Dad, how was I born?"

Years later, when the son had one of his own, he finally understood his father's answer - "We made you that night when we made love instead of having sex."

Blood-shot

Pick that almost healed scab.

Ask not what caused it.

You know you want it to bleed once more.

A pinprick of scarlet swelling into a pool.

And then running  red furrows down your skin.

Warm and sticky and icky.

Watch the patterns it makes.

Oozing.

Let it spill and drip and slip.

Count the minutes until it stops.

By itself.

You'll do it again.

Because you can't cry.

Love and...

Here's my take on the mother of all cliches -

Love is like flying a kite. Sometimes you get cut.

Love is like flying a kite. If you catch the right wind, you can soar to heights you never thought you could.

Love is like flying a kite. It's no fun if there's no distance between the kite and the flier.

Love is like flying a kite. If you pull the string too taut, it breaks.

Love is like flying a kite. It doesn't cost much.

Love is like flying a kite. Even if you don't have your own kite, it is still a happy sight.

Love is like flying a kite. You need practice to get it right.

Love is like flying a kite. It can leave you totally breathless.

Best Friend

Whenever I come across posts and comments like "A good friend will ask you to share your lunch, a best friend will have eaten it already", I do wonder if that's what a best friend is all about.

We've all had "best friends" back in school. We'd always stick together, eat lunch together, walk home together, spend hours on the phone talking and giggling nonsensically. All those slumber parties, all those little notes passed in class. Our birthday parties would be incomplete without the best friend. We'd wait till they arrived before cutting the cake and blowing out the candles. They'd understand us like no one else.

As we get older, it starts to change. It would become about secrets. Trust. They'd be the first to know about our crushes. We'd spend hours talking about how cute the crush was and why they didn't like us back. Later when we'd get into relationships, all the boyfriend troubles would be whined about to the best friend. That's how it's always been.

It's sort of sad that I cannot remember having someone like that until a long time. I never left completely understood by another individual. No one seemed to share my interests. Also, I never really felt the need for a so-called best friend.

Yet, I've found some truly valuable friends in the most surprising ways. They have changed the entire definition of "best friends" for me. Now I know it's not about being similar, or even sharing similar interest. It's more about how much you can count on the other person. It's about how much you can be at peace with them. It's about how silences are no longer awkward. How you cannot stay mad at them even if they are annoying your guts out. They've taught me that girls and boys can be friends, and stay at that. They've taught me that age and sex don't matter.

I call them my precious friends.

P.S. This also includes my mother. And also my boyfriend.

Things I Want to Do Before I Die

It's difficult to make this list, because a) it is ever expanding and b) I might die even as I write it. But, well, here are some of the things I want to have accomplished before I take the snuff.

• Lie on a grassy lawn and watch the sky: Believe me or not, I've never done this. I'd like to try it someday. I've been told that it'll be softer than velvet or chenille. It doesn't matter to me whether it is day or night because clouds and stars fascinate me alike, though I'll be just a bit partial to stars.

Get a dog: My mother just won't let me keep one now, because apparently there's space-constrain and I'm not capable to take care of it. But I really really really want a dog. Dogs are the best to have around when you're sad and don't want to talk about it. They will just rest with you and probably lick your face if you're crying. I really feel that I don't only want a dog, but I actually need one. One day, I definitely will.

Visit the Taj Mahal on a full-moon night: I don't see the Taj as a symbol for eternal love. It is, however, a breathtaking piece of architecture. Somehow it has always fascinated me. I could gaze at it forever and forever and never get bored. And, I've not been to Agra yet. Well, that's why it's on this list!

Get a tattoo: This will definitely scandalize a lot of people. My parents. Some of my friends. My boyfriend. But I want one done, on my nape. Two little anime wings, because, some of us are always meant to fly.

Get published: Every writer's dream, no matter whether big or small. I haven't yet decided what I'd like to publish. I could be a novel. Or poetry. Or a paper. I don't know yet. I want to get published without paying the publishers, not the other way round.

Go to a real rock concert: No, I've never been to one yet. I want to scream my head of and dance like a mad woman. I would wear the band T-shirt and make the rock sign to everyone.

Catch a snow-flake on my tongue: I cannot explain why this seem to be so important to me, but it is. I've never seen snow falling. I used to dream about being in snow-land when I was younger. I don't dream about this anymore but I do want to have snow falling around me. I even wrote imaginative pieces on how it would feel like to witness my first snowfall.

Have a butterfly sit on my palm: I don't want to catch one. I just want one to sit on my palm. It makes me happy to only think about it. I love butterflies, they're beautiful without knowing it.

A Celestial Love Story

He lay on his terrace floor and gazed at the sky, seeing nothing of the otherwise glorious night. The pain of realising that he would never be able to be together with the love of his life sheered his heart with every passing moment. If he wasn’t so steeped in pain he would have admired a night of poetic beauty: the velvety black half globe was sprinkled with shimmering specks of diamond, somewhat marred by the impeccable sphere of unparalleled gloss. As in most of us mundane creatures, pain was the only thing that forced some philosophy in to him and he looked at the Moon in a whole new light.

“All those lines and cracks must have been caused by ancient tears... but what could have caused them? What could have caused pain to such a beautiful thing?” he wondered aloud.

Miraculously and astonishingly, the Moon heard him. A sad little smile spread across the wan face.

“I cry because I can never be with the one I love, and I cry more because I cannot go far enough to forget him. If he and I come together it is the end of eternity. If we let go, it is the end of eternity too. Yet we are tied together by the strangest of bonds, the most painful and the most beautiful too. I can’t ever have him, nor can I ever give him up...”

“Who is he?” he asked, empathizing with the Moon, perhaps getting a bit hopeful too.

And the Moon answered, “The Earth, my dear.”