Lollipop, candy, gold, a quick sugar rush, The strands of our hair to be properly brushed Cover, conceal, hide behind our culture and ‘tahzeeb’,Shy, pretty, attractive but also not easy to concede And yet not too confident to be able to breach,The kind of vibe they approve of has to not have ‘excess’ self esteem These rules and traditions that you set in your little cobblestone,Premeditated … Continue reading Cream in your evening chai
There’s a bitter taste in my mouth, weighing heavy on my tonguelike my heart against my ribs,like the kind that is swiped from lips after drinking juice,thick in the morning as it swirls in the glass, pulp falling to the bottom, in its sodden state. The taste of juice in the morning,when your mouth is unclean, and your mind is buzzing, all I hear is … Continue reading Juice Pulp
I won’t be found on Broomfield Road, racing through the car park bay.Nor pacing over distant hills,my Darling, I’m a world away. Though onlookers count her present, blind of what’s inside,something in your beady mindbore witness to a change in mine. You see straight through my translucent skin, stretched on its chiselled frame;a window through which tendons, tense,plea to ping ’til the pain’s gone lame. … Continue reading Where does it take you?
I’m feeling a little hollowKnock, and you’ll hear an echoLean too hard and I’ll crumble Concealed,Afraid to speakAfraid to moveAfraid to uncurl my fingersAnd take up any more space than the one Between my skin and my bonesMy toes and my scalp So, I have emptied myself out Served it on a plateHidden away in the shell Which has become my home. I would like a new … Continue reading Hollow
Before I fall asleepAfter the lights are outAnd my head on the pillow – That’s when my brain awakens. It’s when the past and the present and the future Meet and mingle,Talk over each other,Spilling drinks on each other’s clothes And stepping on each other’s toes Trading secretsAnd gossipUntil I don’t know which story belongs To whom anymore. They allocate blame,And shame,All with one target … Continue reading Mean Friends
Blue as the tranquil water of the lakes, or of the unseen breeze, or flying kites. Or of ink pens that stain our hands and smear all over the white of the table beneath our weight. Blue as the rising tide, the falling rain, the last crayon in the box that day. Blue as the uniforms we grew up in, and the highlights in … Continue reading Blue
That she loves you with a full heart, There is no doubt. That she will never leave – And instead will always stay – There is no breath of doubt. And that you know her well – Like the ripe veins on the backs of your hands, And the frayed spine of your favourite book: Like the way she smiled the day you re-met her, … Continue reading Secret Songs
A titanic cloud in the shape of an angel’s corpse provides respite from the sun for a moment as I pass it looking up from my car from the motorway. Falling between worlds, the body is downward facing, but floats on, for passing it is passing a living moment. Which is truer of a cloud: its passing, or ours? The colossal corpse keeps … Continue reading A Titanic Cloud
There it is again The silence So big it creates a physical presence in the room She feeds silence her cup of tea She sits on her bed and they converse, As she stares at the ceiling. Silence strokes her cheek and gathers her tears. It whirls around her like a hurricane. Somewhere there is more than this. There is noise There is … Continue reading All The Time There Are Things But Not Here
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