Where are the flavours of summer? Surely lost in the tart stickiness of the mango Or the cloying sweetness of jackfruit Buzzing around the house like fruit flies. The crickets chirping in the trees Music coming as from a lifetime away As gulmohor blooms scatter restlessly Unanchored in the evening breeze. Who is it who…
U: unearthed #NaPoWriMo
When my soul needs healing I come to you Cutting through flesh and tissue With an expert scalpel Setting the maggots free Tearing the skin Unearthing (in)human remains A bit of nail, some blood Some sinew. And when it’s done I draw the curtain Veil the wounds with the usual warts And hide In full…
T: Time #NaPoWriMo
You swim in circles in my head Under a sweltering sun Scattering rippled sunlight In a lake without a name While I watch from the shade Of atree that is no more Raising a toast to the sky To a time from long ago.
S: Silence #NaPoWriMo
How can I be silent, How can silence fill my howl The tears I do not cry The grief I wear like a cowl That I borrowed from you As you lay dying The words I left unsaid My truths Exposed and cloying Patterns upon the bed Where I watched over you…
One day #NaPoWriMo
one day we will watch as the corpses rise and bare their teeth on our thighs and weep and cry, oh why, why, then did you kill the gulls as they flew to their homes fish in mouth certain that the waves would break upon their skulls you did not wait you took their…
R: Restless #NaPoWriMo
In the moonlit path we walked together ‘There are wild foxes here,” you said, I took a step closer Wondering if we would see them unless They saw us first and swallowed us whole. My hair caught in branches that swept low, pulling At our clothes. “It’s eerie,” you smiled, disentangling the strands, “but beautiful,” I…
Q: Quiet #NaPoWriMo
Today someone asked after you I looked here and there unwilling to share your absence. And now I look as if on cue to the moon out there uncaring to share my silence.
P: Play #NaPoWriMo
If I turn on the lights I miss the glow of the sunset the night clouds chasing on the heels of the day. When I turn on the lights I almost do not see the moon half-full beaming down at me. When I turn on the lights I do not see you sitting by…
O: Obedience #NaPoWriMo
The virtues of obedience are best understood by those who are disobedient in their youth!
N: Nocturne #NaPoWriMo
I sit in the dark While the house sleeps The familiar sighs The gentle creaks The thump of a tail All the sounds I own As the house becomes home And I can rest in peace.
M: Misery #NaPoWriMo
It’s mid-day. I finally change out of my night shirt Also wear decent shorts for good measure. Maybe someone will visit? Misery. We are taught it’s all in the head How we can change our mood With only a thought It’s mid-day And if you’re not doing anything yet It is doubtful you…
Ticks #NaPoWriMo
The dogs had ticks That we pulled out And killed In bowls of paraffin. At night Ghosts of dead ticks Cadence and crawl Upon my skin.
