Poetry

By Nana M Singehebhuye Under the starry skies, they gaze upon the heavens to face the moon, to embrace them with wishes, with hearts full of unimaginable tears, minds consumed with regret, engulfed in untouchable grief.  Tomorrow sings out loud, praising and boasting in his own arrogant victories, with no care or anxiety in the world. With no promises to keep, only wishes to make it dream and wish upon a star. Memorising the faces of the dead in promises unkept. Watching them

By Heather-Lynn Sobey I Fear not that you will see the true me As well not let you see thee For whom shall believe in me Will only see the true me As your eyes only see one of me  But is that truly me Will others think they know ne Have never ever met me For I am me and only me To whom to think you know me  Truly doesn’t know me From secret to lies from whisper outside To whom thinks your right It may all just be lies As I fear not that you will see the true me  Written by He

By Zaina Haque I smile at how difficult it is  to describe you every time someone asks. I suppose I smile  at every opportunity I get to speak about you, though I’ve noticed  words never seem quite enough. I start off with the obvious ones. Pure hearted, gentle, talented, intelligent, funny, and fiercely loyal. But even those feel too small. For how could I ever explain  the essence of your soul? What comparison  could ever  do you justice? I’ve always admired words,  but wit

By Zaina Haque Like a summer day in New York, you sneak in without ruckus– creating a tender pitter patter that tickles the concrete right before cracking it open. Splitting into a thousand liquid bullets you strike the city– you scream your rebellion. To you, falling is the same as flying and crashing down is the only path to cutting free. Except freedom is never absolute when the sky has its claim and you have your consequences. For every escape, you return like a ghost mad

By Zaina Haque It is a cosmic ritual, I suppose,  for opposite forces  to make a home out of each other.  Peace never arrives without pain,  and beauty refuses to live without bruise.  Like divine duality,  it is contradiction  that converges into cohesion.  I mean, why is it  that the eye can only notice a star’s glow,  when the sky has gloomed?  Why is it  that the heart can beat on,  even when the soul breaks a little? Perhaps, that is the secret  of the universe– that tru

By Dhruv Tangri सारे रिश्ते टूटने पर जोड़ा बना मेरा कलम से,  वह कलम जो कभी हो नहीं सकती बेवफा, वह कलम जो दिलाएगी मुझे सितारे और चांद, वह कलम जो परेशानी में करे मुझे शांत,  वह कलम जो हमेशा देगी मेरा साथ।  कलम मेरी निडर है देखती बड़े बड़े ख्वाब,  कलम मेरी ज्वाला जसबातों को कर देती है राख।  वह राख मैं मलता अपने माथे पर,  राख लगी हो तो दुख होता नहीं जस्बातों की चिता जलने के बाद।  कलम से रिश्ता जोड़ने पर दिखी सीधी सच्ची राह,  कलम जो दिखाती है रास्ता ले जाती है मुझे जस्बातों के यमर

By Dhruv Tangri बीज बोता है fकसान नफरत के इंसानों के खेत में, िजधर बरसात होती है जलन की और पानी जमता घमंड का, िजधर कच्ची फसल भी टूट सकती है और पक्की फसल रूठ सकती है, उस fकसान से जो बोता है बीज नफरत के इंसानों के खेत में। दाने अलग कर जलता है भूसा जैसे fचता जलती हो इंसानों के खेत में, हर पौधा ढूंढता है मौका खुदका उल्लू सीधा करने के fलए, हर पौधा रचता है साजिश दूसरे पौधे का नाश करने के fलए। fदखने में फसल हरी है पर fकसान जानता है fकतनी खोखली है, कौन जानता है fकस पौधे का समय आयेगा

By Dhruv Tangri I walk on that path which has no end,  Till my sole is soar with boils on my feet, I walk in despair when I see a light so red,  My existence burns in the heat.  I walk in joy in the garden of youth, I walk in desolation under pitch black skies, Till I find nothing but my soul to soothe,  In this evil world where there is no wrong or right,  Hate-filled speech like men spewing fire, A naked infant who sinned when born, Slaughtered in front of his mother’s eyes

By Dhruv Tangri Like dusting colors from the wings of a dead butterfly, I shed my pride, trade my joy for gloom and sorrow, The feeling of repentance creeps upon me, Like the shoots of an evil tree that bears forbidden fruits. Who knew blue bruised eyes look pretty too, in a broken relationship with thorny roots? They make me bleed out my sins when I sit and wail at what I did yet again, Who knew the sweet forbidden fruits could taste bitter too? My eyes red like ruby from sl

By Dhruv Tangri I come from a place where the sun does not shine and the birds don’t sing, I come from a broken family, Where trust is a tool to make a fool out of others and punches thrown at an eye’s blink, With bloody lips and blackened eyes, we are somehow managing. I come from a place where smiles are rare and ugly smirks are drawn across the face, We greet with love but harbor hate inside because our concept of family is laced. We are self-centered fools, pretentious an

By Dhruv Tangri The cruelest form of torture is when you show hope and snatch it away, It leaves a man scarred enough to be scared of hoping for something again. Such is the tale of a man who hoped too much, Now lies lifeless on an oaken bed with blue silken blankets,  His life was nothing but a map of scars, Recalling dreadful memories from one cut to another. Every night he dreamt of being worthwhile but rarely followed through, Another city was carved in his map of scars w

By Dhruv Tangri Guilt entrapped in my head like flies in amber droplets, A constant battle with myself to escape admitting to mistakes, The sight of cash makes me erect and my heart begins to shake,  Should I accept the bribe, or keep the offer on wait? Should I let the offender be, or charge him with rape? Why do these stacks of paper overpower my conscience? Another case closed in a box with velvet red tapestry, my arteries and veins, Why do I give in to urges when justice

By Dhruv Tangri Before it gets too late, Beyond the knowing this question rises, Do we really have to fall down into the valley, If we can prevent it by avoiding a careless and misguided step? Towards salvation I dream of marching, But not without you, ma. I can feel you drifting apart into the horizon,  Under the cry of the bleeding sun, As every wave that crashes the shore, Breaks my heart into an irreparable piece, That falls into this cruel sea and swims towards you, In t

By Dhruv Tangri I walk on broken glass till I'm numb to the pain, Like a broken soul seeking peace in datura, I try to clear up the mess frantically, Like a murderer at the crime scene, Desperately trying to run and hide. Death seems so appealing, Not so much when I think about you, You're the string of cobweb that keeps a seed from falling, You're the chirping bird merrily singing on the lonely road I'm walking, Scattered Autumn leaves and shattered summer dreams, All come b

By Dhruv Tangri Like withering flowers your smile fades, You look at your wrinkles,  Like the rough bark of a tree, in the mirror each day. You worry about the put-on weight, You worry about me and yourself like we’re both the same.  I seek you like the river seeks the giant sea,  I pour myself into your thoughts because you’re just like me.  You are me, ma, afraid of who we will be, No apologies can fix what I did to you it seems.  You protect me like a pearl resting on the

By Joshua Lefort Love passes over me like a brush, A psychic tingling that prickles my skin, A whispered thought that I can’t make out, An unexplainable warmth expelled through my pores. In your presence, I can’t help but paint the sky And dream of more as I wish upon a star. Like water, you have no end nor beginning. You are a timeless manifestation of life, You are an embodied experience, A film that cannot be tamed in a frame, The pattering rain in sync  With the rhythmic

By Joshua Lefort Distal fractals of broken promises, Shattered dreams and heavy memories, Fill the vast and barren lands I call solitude. Condemned by no hand but my own, I dress and bandage in fashion, And cling tight to the illusion Of an accessorized distraction. Sedative in clothes, Validation well sewn, But still, I stain red. For a mourning heart Can’t help but weep, cry, and bleed For the hurt it couldn’t help but share With one who couldn’t help but care. With each be

By Joshua Lefort Slipped knots and cinched waist, Bound by your love, in death I atrophy.  Bent and pried limbs, I’m star-strung like Vitruvian art, Pulled by what I never amounted to be.   For you I bleed red, But why do I reflect blue? I’m tired of your cold punctuated jabs, Your cursed indifference and its desolate hue.  I’m colourful too—  Spark lit, flame aghast, I yearn for a sweet death.  Blackberries line my smeared lips, Raspberry-tarred lungs spill a red kiss. Heart

By Joshua Lefort Mamá, sufro por ti. Tú, que me sembraste bajo el sol Para que brotara con experiencia. Tú, que me sacrificaste a la dualidad del hombre Por la cual te confunden. De blanco, me despelleja el abrigo tuyo. De rojo, me quema vivo como gasolina tuya. Me das agua, Pero se torna amarga Por la pérdida de tu inocencia. Creen ser superiores a ti, a mí, Andando por guerras de tierras, Que sean antiguas o modernas, No mejora el ciclo, solo se disfraza. Como semillas disp

By Joshua Lefort Cease to bleach my blackened lips  So that they may reflect the silence that I voice. Bandage my sight and gorge my appetite So that my carnality may take no hold of me. Shadowed by the sombrous clouds That billow from the chimney of my existence,  I placidly stand well-heeled  Befogged in my palpable fillings. I think not, but feel In the shrouding steam that exhales. Wrapped in a self-consuming ego, I wear a masquerade justified for societal locomotion. Con