Rhythm

By Shreya Bejwani

with flirtatious banter of our bodies,

we waltz within our circle of oblivion

forever gravitating towards each other

one step forward one step back.

touch me.

don't.

tell me,

that you dreamt of me again.

I've read your favorite books over and over

trying to find your essence in them;

those genres and I had only you in common.

This bewildering fascination with you

has been utterly inconvenient

to disguise as cordiality.

stop.

keep dancing in circles.

skillful and rehearsed

at least this way we'll always be in motion

well versed in the language of our teasing

this is all we've ever known

but sometimes I wonder

if this is all we'll ever know.

if we were ever to cross into the forbidden

would you tell me staying safe was beginning to feel dangerous?

when we finally stop dancing

and the breaks hit the motion of our bodies too hard,

catch me

before I fall and break into a million pieces, all of them yours

or you'll never let me hear the end of it

By Shreya Bejwani