Heavy Day?

I wake up
more disoriented
than a hungover morning in my twenties.
But there's no alcohol in the house,
there's a pandemic raging outside 
and no partying.

Where is this coming from?

My heart feels compressed
and out of resolve.
Resolve that had been furious yesterday,
to straighten out the wrinkles
in my life and others,
resolve that had taken over
the need to binge watch
the latest episode of Game Of Thrones,
resolve that had taken over
mindlessly, endlessly scrolling through
social media.
I feel cluttered.
I feel blunt.
I feel heavy.
I feel discolored.
I feel like the aftermath
of a hurricane.
Wrecked. Strewn all over.

Can I get my life back from yesterday?
Or do I trudge in my weary shoes 
through the envelope of reality
wrapping me tightly as most of us do
till it's time to sleep and wake up to a 
new possibility tomorrow?

Belief

Believe in Buddha,
The one, the only.
Believe in Jesus,
The one, the only.
Believe in Allah,
The one, the only.
Believe in Zeus,
The one, the only.
Believe in Ra,
The one, the only.
Believe in Benzaiten,
The one, the only.
Believe in Shiva,
The one, the only.
Believe in Sun Wu Kong,
The one, the only.
Believe in Obatala,
The one, the only.

No dearth of options,
Yet you chose Tyranny.
All the others were left with was Struggle.
There is no God, no faith
that can alter the power of choice,
The power of free will.

Because you will do as you please.
The others will only suffocate;
As long as differences exist,
the world will stay how it is.

Ways To Make Love

Make love 

under the warmth of the sun,

in the secrecy of a closet,

in the numbness of the cold,

with a goldfish watching you,

in front of mirrors,

under the shade of a tree,

in the mistiness of rain,

on a mountain top,

in a hotel or a motel;

drunk,

angry,

happy,

desperate,

disconsolate,

unencumbered,

constrained,

excited,

depressed,

carelessly,

untamed;

while people go places,

take trains,

catch planes,

hike and swim,

make plans and careers,

host dinners,

play poker,

and photograph the Amalfi coast,

commemorate a dead leader,

and dance,sing and sway.

Make love in all kinds of ways.

Recycle

If we were to recycle things on Earth

as much as we recycled conceit, narcissism and assumptions,

we would be living on a planet over saturated with oxygen,

bursting in colors, life and an abundance of joy.

Riddle

Seamlessly, I transition

to who I am not,

to someone I don't want to be.

I take time, effort and pride

to be who I am,

to be someone I want to be.

Who am I?

Unblinking, I wound and scar

flesh and soul 

that doesn't belong to me.

I pause a hundred times,

think and ponder

when the flesh and soul are my own.

Who am I?

Unadulterated, I perceive

my conscience to be

and blame someone.

I am caught in a web of vanity

when accountability 

is spelled as 'me'.

Who am I?