As the night arrives, a door closes
To her left, a chest breathes deeply
The little one wakes up from her false slumber
Mischief shines in her eyes as she slips her dancing fingers under the pillow
A lone street light shines through the window pane as she hears the favourite sounds of her world
A binding opening. The crinkle of paper
Her eyes squint, her mind quiets
Silence
Clock ticking to six, one ear listening at the door for the bell
Another pair of eyes peering through the window
Will it be the top of the head that'll appear first or the face through the door?
Shushing sounds and hand gestures
Turning the television off. Cool cloth to hide its warmth
One little set of feet run back to arrange books. One little face puts on a smile
Who will walk in today? A smile? A frown? A mask?
Do you feel the simmering rage? Or a lack of air?
Maybe the shoulders are relaxed today
Open sesame
Why does my heart beat so? Why do my palms sweat? Which face do I put on today?
I hope my performance is perfect
How would you know how the heart bleeds?
What would you know of the chest trying to squeeze out tears?
When your eyes are forbidden to let out even a drop
Did you reach an angle the floor looks safe to lie on?
Make sure your hair covers the tracks
Little one, remember to breathe
And in that moment, as the wind whipped through my hair, I looked up
Above the rush of traffic, blinked out the night lights, silenced the honking around
It made me smile
Knowing you and I see the same moon 💚
Pagan, pagan, they cried,
pelted me with words sharper than knives,
Burns like hot coals.
I looked up and cried to my idols:
elephant and veena for patience, wisdom
lotus for wealth, fortune, prosperity
chakra and conch for protection, balance
skulls and moon for destruction, fierceness
O creator
"They say you should all be one"
"And as I can't accept that, it's no fun"
"They say I have no say"
"They say I shouldn't preach, as my home is unclean and filthy"
"A shithole"
And as my teardrops dried, Indra laughed.
Thunderbolt. Rains
Sweet drops on my face
Freezing my head
I jumped into a puddle. Splash!