On own palm’s lifted line of heart

Reeled in by thieving eyes’ art

“Re” – reflection

Retro parade

Of life’s

Black white

Reel to reel

Left me

Breathless

Bursting with

Would be

Could be

Should be

Only if, then(s)

Sighs replete

There is

No retake

No prefix to fix, once

Seconds minutes hours

Thunder under

Time’s bridge

Whistling shuffling

That was it

Scrambling

At the edge

Facing destiny’s

Thrown gauntlet

Shaken not beaten

Best NOT

To retrace, instead

Take a leap forward

With implicit faith

RE in regrets

Are futile at best

To get on in life

With time in hand

On own terms is best

Obliterating the rest

Life‘s lesson number one

Destiny’s dealt

Hand thus finally won

**picture is from internet:getnidoskidos.com

Sprouted words

Words got strung

In sentences

Which in turn

Got associated

With humanity

Each person with own

Humane story

Waiting to be told

Leading to multi hued

Quilt of heaving

Humanity with myriad

Emotions -teeth clenched

for survival…biding time…

For that one moment

When a needy trusting hand

Softly steals into their hearts

Sharing simple warmth

Connections are forged-

A living protoplasm joins

Its own wee heaving isle

Of grief and joy to other

Grieving cells

A chain of life

Is formed leading

To one throbbing

Heaving heartbeat- a city

Within the concrete city

Needing no ground

To stand upright

Its foundation laid

In that hallowed ground

That is beyond time’s

Eroding hand- an edifice

of bricked human hearts

set in emotional glue

Moistened with tears

Every heart that touched

Another- left a bit

Of own heart back

At same time took piece

Of other’s heart back

Enriching this sharing

for posterity

(** this is inspired by the 911 movie Extremely Close, Incredibly Loud)

Journey for Solace

Heart in mouth

Crossed hairpin

Mountain bends

Drove beyond

Dipping valleys

Up steep passes

Grief’s shadows dissipated

As thinned air gave pause

Jumpstarted paused heart

Weighted soul burst into song

Blood gushed to gaping holes

Pock marking traumatized heart

Quilted nature’s green patches

Sustenance starved swatches

Reaffirmed destiny’s universality

Hugging descended calm walled

In by succor gained from sight

Of nestled sacred grove therein

I was ready to tackle world again

Look fate in the eye and if necessary

Unsheathe hibernating gumption to defy

Thought steeds towards

Internal sanctuary

Few avow soul is pure

Fraud, a slot machine

A disconnect from reality

Everyday, I stitch mouths of grief

With laughter cross stitches

Planting rows of smiling beds

Undertow of sadness

Is strong but my will tough

Enough to overcome it

Eyes anointed with holy water

Sight of ecstatic prayer flags against

Distant peaks, chiming monastic bells

All exude strange bliss within me

Reinforcing walls of inner sconce

Receptacle for my soul’s lit flame

As my feet hit ground every morning

I am thankful for his continued grace

Even as I long to opt out of life’s rat race

Happier slants

To – old rankles

Coming together

Across the globe

e-pal potpourri

peeling vegetables

did away old mental presets

exposed mind’s new flash drive

My life

You marked me

For life

You left

You remain

Often appearing

Reflected in mirrors

Déjà vu

Moments abound

Your spirits linger

In myriad ways confound

Alone, sick in bed

I sense your gentle treads

Soft breath on fevered brow

Sheer curtain’s sudden billow

I plump pillows, turn on side

My feverish palms find

Your sacred chanting beads

My divvied treasure, entrusted

Seated on stoop steps outside

I see you twinkling in the night skies

In shapely white clouds during daytime

You affirm your presence time after time

I see you in leaves of dusty books

A turn of phrase, in stranger’s looks

In gentle chides, in crooning lullabies

In firm tones, in disappointed moans

I’ve tried to live up to your expectations

Life is after all a slippery slope, you know

When you left, my horizon had darkened

Now I light my world’s wick with hope

Tides bore away your ashes

Waves obliterated your footprints

Your markings on my soul still remain

Pulsating in the blood’s flow in my veins

(**my homage to all my beloved departed kith, kin, friends)

Take for granted

Investments here

Garner poor returns

Ties that occur freely

Are at their resilient best

Untainted by expectations

Showering joy unexpectedly

Ties often bind

Beyond rhyme, reason

Rendering time space

As meaningless seasons

Time and tide wait for none

Ebb and flow flotsam jetsam are our

Realities yet those who stay moored

To inner self, straddle all successfully

Languishing in-between

What was, could be

Pressed rose bud

Bled unrequited love

Prey to destiny’s villainy

Shaking yet determined

Relieved time spotted hands

Set free forgotten love n bud