Half hidden, half in the light. My tangled legs wanna leave all this behind and run.
Run towards the light. Towards the peace towards serenity.
But my legs are struck,
they're bound to stay,
no one has locked me in,
but my legs are pulled back
and they are asked to stay.
They are told to finish what I'm doing.
Half in the darkness and half in light, my legs want to run towards the ocean.
It's been a while since
We hung out together
Just the two of us.....
You and me...!
.
We have been on a break
The reason I despair to know
.
But there is something that happened in this break
I had been torn
I had been naive
A lot came
And a lot went by
And a lot happened.
.
It's the things I'm ashamed of
It's something I don't wanna talk about
.
I wish you had been there
To hold me back
From going all the wrong ways.
.
I want you to be there
To tell you all the aspects of the long day
.
I plug in my earphones with no music switched on
The night slowly turned mellow.
The embrace of my best friend's mother
and the timing of my google photo notifications
just feels like a hug and a salp at the same time.
I gaze at pictures of the sky,
my phone chimes again
It's the reminder I had set to call my parents.
I swipe it away and brush off my thoughts
I do not have the energy to dial the number
and deal with both of them.
I continue looking at the image from last year,
a time when I was at a stranger's house
as I didn't wanna go home
I saw how juggling between multiple things,
multitasking, studying and working
were all pins to my shoulder
pinned with pride and a pinch of salt.
I remember how I was happy for the lack of time
to think, to feel and to contemplate.
But then going home, going back to that house
having to live with the person
whose house I left years ago.
scared me in a way I didn't know of
It made me want to leave even before reaching
It made me want the plane to crash
the car to stumble
the road to split.
It scared me that staying under the same roof
would scratch wounds that had become scars
would lead to conversations that would end to fights
I reached the building she called home and I called house
I remember how she would want to embrace me in a hug and I'd stand still
I remember how she wanted to know the people in my life
and how she wasn't a part of it
I remember how she had faded from all of it
While I stab my toe on the way to find my notebook to scribble this down
My phone chimes of the reminder to sleep
I still stare at the notification.
I miss the person I don't want in life.
he thinks he gave me scars,
scratched the old ones.
he has not given me tears, because all he has given me is happiness beyond words
the intensity of your love is what brings me closer to you, closer to your love and beyond all to life
I know I cried. I know I should not have.
but that’s what i am.
tears are my mates and sadness my pal.
you have not brought them to me, they stayed from before.
I am healed not from what happened today, but I am healed from my old scars, not by time but by your love.
so my love, don’t take the blame, take credit for bringing me back to life,
coz, i owe this to you and your love
Doors closed from behind that never tend to open..
The doors behind whom is the person with the keys
Those doors....
How I wish you had told me before that these doors would never open...
Rather you promised me keys to eternal you
Of all the fake promises and lost love....
I wish I had known you even better. Known you even far.
I wouldn't be standing here today not knowing which way to go. Whom to trust.
I wouldn't be here having lost all faith in life
And turned cynical towards all.
I wish I had known you before.
Before all of this could have happened..
- Razia
@argumentsfromwithin hope I did justice to your poem. And ya if anyone wants to take it further. Please do..
There are days…
That turn into weeks…
These months that have become years…
How long have I been waiting for an answer…
A solution to the fears that keep me awake at night…
there’s an odd bit of advice you see that was offered to me…
A tid bit of knowledge used to express an emotion…
This feeling we’ve all been looking for…
An answer behind closed doors…
-c.S.
By: ArgumentsFromWithin
(Please write your own ending and share! I can’t wait to read them!)
The other day someone asked me, what’s the most precious thing in your life? Or maybe something that you hold on to? I thought for a very long time and my answer was “nothing”. Yes, I do not associate feelings with objects anymore. There was a time when even the smallest of objects meant the world to me, where I was close to all petty things and anything anybody gave me it meant the world to me. I used to cry and drain my tears out if I lost something, but now things have changed. I first thought that it was because of the so called “maturity” I gained with increasing age and that it was normal. I thought it was childishness that I expressed before.
But I just feel that day by day I am getting detached from things. I think that I don’t associate feelings with objects because then, being objects they tend to get damaged and when that happens it hurts. And I thought maybe I’ll leave objects and associate greater amount of feelings with people. There are very few people in my life with whom I associate. I thought this was what growing up meant, that when you become matured this is what you do, but alas I preferred the childishness.
There was a thing with associating feelings with objects, there is no expectation of the object to have the same feeling towards you and thus without expectations there is no scope for disappointments.
With people it complicates things. You have to get what you give and when that does not happen you feel disappointed. So was I. With all those disappointments in life from people every now and then, I just realized that I can’t associate with anything. I just can’t.
Neither people nor things. After every failure, breakup of every relationship, loosing of objects I tend to move on very easily in life and people think that I’m emotionless, a lot have said too but I have just become so. From too emotional to emotionless. I couldn’t take the disappointments so I stopped expecting. Maybe this is good maybe it isn’t. I don’t know and I don’t want to know.
People say that I use them for my gain, well when I was being used I dint complain, but when you get the taste of your own medicine its bitter now!
People say that my behavior and attitude isn’t right, well you just get what you give.
I have always been told that my ego is my biggest enemy, you call it ego I call it, self respect.
I don’t care about others and their feelings you say, when no one gave a damn about me I just stopped caring.
For me, I am the way life has tamed me. I might be emotionless, egoistic, rude, emotionless or anything. It’s your perception about me, and I can’t do anything about it. But don’t give me hopes, don’t talk about me or regarding my presence in your life to someone associated with us and I get to know from them. If you want to say something, tell it to me right at my face I won’t feel offended. Don’t be surprised when I get worried about the people in my life, even though I don’t show any emotions I’m very protective when it comes to my people. I loved the old me but I wasn’t practical, the new me is just a reflection of how I’m treated. The people around me and situations I have been through have made me think this way. Maybe it isn’t it pleasing and convenient but this way I’m not hurt every now and then. So I prefer being this way because I now care more about me than others, as that phase of me putting everybody else before me has passed long time ago.
I was new in town then, had not known what to do and where to go on a boring Sunday afternoon. I took my bike and went to the mall and the first shop that my eyes fell on was the book store. I went in brought “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins. Well, a lot of people had suggested that book to me and finally when my eyes fell on the book I couldn’t resist it. I brought the book and headed to CCD. I don’t know whether it was because of Sunday, or because everyone was bored, the coffee shop was crowded like never before. Thankfully I got a table for two, went in, sat down, ordered a cup of hot cappuccino and started reading the book. Just when I finished the third of fourth page, a guy came in and distracted me. I get very annoyed when someone disturbs me in the middle of reading. I looked up,
“Is this seat taken? The café is crowed and literally there is no other seat available so do you mind?“
A tall guy with great physique and just amazing eyes, a guy to whom you could never say no
“Sure, no one is going to come here”
“Thank you”
Well, I continued with my book and he got into his business. Surprisingly he too had a Paula Hawkins’ book in hand. “One Minute to Midnight” I was about to ask him whether he had read mine, when he noticed the book in my hand.
“That’s a good book, I very recently read that and trust me the suspense is good”
“Oh! I was about to ask you the same. Actually this is the first book of the author that I am trying and I have no idea how it’s going to be. I have heard great review about it from friends and so thought would give it a try.”
“Well, you won’t be disappointed, trust me. Even I started with that book of the author and this is my third. I just am not able to stop”
“That’s nice to know. Well if its reader certified then I am sure it would be worth it.”
In no time I realized that we had both closed our books which is quite unusual about me because I never stop reading and talk, otherwise I am very talkative but when I have books I just am absorbed in it. But this guy had a different charisma; he just made me do the unthinkable. We talked about a lot of stuff like books, other authors, how Indian authors have developed in the past few years, criticized a lot of authors and surprisingly both of us agreed on a lot of things. Normally my taste of books is bizarre, I don’t completely follow any author or genre, I just like to experiment new authors, genres and different styles. And when I say this to people everybody thinks I am weird but he was just like that. It was amazing to find a person like that. I had associated and connected to a complete stranger in no time.
We had talked for hours and after a long time I realized that I had to go. I did not want to leave him and go anywhere but I had to.
"It was great talking to you, but I have to go now, so see you again if possible”
“Oh yes even I need to be somewhere I just dint realize how time passed. It was great meeting you too.”
“Bye”
“Hey, I’m Vikram, by the way”
He extended his hand.
“I’m Razia” I replied and we both shook hands and parted our ways.
That was when I realized that we had talked for hours and dint even bothers to ask each other’s name. It’s been a year and a half now since this incident. Whenever I see that book I remember him, but even though I had been back to the coffee shop again a couple of times I dint meet him.
To be honest in a way it is good because maybe it won’t be the same if we meet again, because that one day that I had spent with him was wonderful. It was nice and I don’t want to ruin it with another meeting. Sometimes it’s just good with one meeting alone. If that person come back in your life and takes a permanent place it might not be the same.
The solicited aspects of life turns on
Accepted mores of life goes on
But still there persists one constant thing
That isn't ready to go with change...
Change itself.
There are aspects she claims about herself
There are aspects she says she's not
But like everybody says
At the end of the day all she wants are eyes pleased
And people happy.
I haven't known her well
Even after knowing her for the past 21 or so years
She seems to be a confident, clear and sorted person
And the next fraction I see this trash of a person
She messes up everything just by over thinking
Everytime I tell her to shut up at unnecessary conversations.
Still she spills the words and poof! Goes everything
There are people who know the playful side of hers
And yet there are others who know her as rude and disrespectful
She throws up tantrums and sits up angry
And then there are people who now her as the quite and composed one....
I know her of not just flesh and bone
But rather deep inside
Of all these sides and more
Of all the broken relationships
Of all the complaints from childhood
Of all the fears from life....
I know her like no one else
But sometimes even I have a set back understanding what exactly she wants
Because she holds back from everything she needs
Having so much going on in her head
But still putting them all behind
And regretting of that one moment she takes for herself
Spending that one penny on her
Going that one extra mile.
I feel sorry for her if nothing else
Because of the heart that she holds
And the world she tries to put together
In the end she lands up letting go of herself for others
You were my kid once. You were the one I cared about the most once. You were my soul and my life. I don’t know when that changed and how it changed. I remember giving you all that was mine. Being partial towards everything you did. Knowing all your sins and still supporting you. I was your backbone and I was your system. I dint care about me, my things, or my life, for that matter. I wanted you to be in peace and have fun in life. From 15 I turned 35 for you and from 35 I turned you 15. I would have done anything for you, bring starts on earth, travel to Mars to give you a little alone time. I would have done anything you asked for, you demanded for. I dint care about how you asked. I would have and actually speaking I did.
But you started betraying me, using me, and above all took me for granted. You assumed that I was just for you and had nothing of my own. You dint even acknowledge my presence let alone my life. I would hear hours together about what you have to say, but when I open my mouth you disappear. I give you everything I have but you can’t even give me a small portion of your time. I would have given you my soul and my life, actually speaking I did.
If you had been loyal to me, I would have given you my life. I wouldn’t do any of this for you now. In fact I wouldn’t do anything for you now. And now by you I mean everybody. I wouldn’t do anything for anybody because I’m tired, sick and done doing it for you and everybody else. What I wouldn’t do for you? You ask me, well I wouldn’t do anything for you my dear, not just for you but for anybody, is all I say, to you and to everybody.
I'm literally shivering of the cold breeze here but it's also making me feel better for some reason from all the ache in my heart and the confusion in my head
The cozy space
My granny used to tell me this story all the time. When I was a kid and used to get upset, I would go hide in the cupboard where she kept all the blankets and cry. That seemed the coziest space of all. I was known to be the cry baby, otherwise nicknamed the sensitive one.
Growing up, every time I had a fight with my older brother I cried at night sleeping between my parents, without them having even the slightest idea of what I was doing. My pillows were heavy each morning and not a single soul knew.
Teenage years, filled with loneliness made me associate emotions with things. While that small piece of the broken cup, and the earring my best friend gave and I lost one. The school uniform, the English textbooks which had stories that made me love reading, everything seemed to be a part of something big.
Having had to live with other people in college, the shower became that cozy space, where I cried while the water ran through my face, while I looked radiant; no one knew what was happening.
Moving cities I continued carrying the same pillow everywhere, it seemed to have known all sides of me and all stories of mine. While the pillow turned heavy, it also seemed to be the only thing to hold on to
These days, sunsets are the cozy space, evenings filled with some music and leading to nights I can look forward to. The time with myself along with some tea I make, mostly disastrous. I seemed to have found my cozy space. The corners at buildings and the empty roads seem to have grown to be cozy spaces.
Image by: Razia @a-small-startup