Disparity

Didn't you eat a whole plate of food?

I could just eat some salt.

Didn't you smile at the end of the meal?

I was bitter and hungry.

Didn't your mother cook you the food?

Mine wasn't around.

Didn't your father get all the groceries?

My dad was broke by the 15th.

Weren't you angry the ice cream was finished?

I could at least get a large gulp of water.

And then you said, 

"Oh, you're sitting on a chair?"

Mediocrity And Its Weight

Mediocrity truly has no merit

despite any advances its makes;

it is progress that lacks accountability.

It ends with being distraught and jealous,

with anger and insecurity.

Yet the one who carries it knows its weight,

the one who carries it knows there's no time

to dial back and make progress with the truth;

the world has moved on.

To fail and succeed 

doesn't come easily to the average.

There are no lessons to be learnt,

no wisdom to be imbibed,

no hills and valleys,

no corners to turn.

One can look ahead for miles and look back for miles

and the scenery remains the same;

sunshine and rainbows,

never the rain or the pot of gold.

Solace

I don't remember

the last time

I got drenched in the rain-

there's a need for control;

But with you,

I can say goodbye

to umbrellas and frantic running

towards dry lands.

Unaltered Pieces Of Skin and Flesh

We are all hunkered down in our shelters,

much like the cavemen of yore

who hid from plague, thunderstorms and mammoths,

clueless and fearful, unable to resort to any means

to get past the dangers.

Like them, we are muddied in real communication,

choosing to just dance to latest trends,

making memes and poking fun of others instead.

There are some who try and venture out,

only to be trampled, murdered and blown away.

The rest of us in the shelters utter solemn words

and scoff and provide insights and analysis 

on what went wrong and how things should work.

But the crooked

find a way out.

The others are hungover

on politeness and pre-conceived notions,

only to be slapped in the face

by reality when it's their time;

and even in that cognizance,

they are alone and face the storms and mammoths alone.

Such is the time we have come to-

we don't have time to make memories anymore.

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.