Chasing Sunshine

I

One fine day,

To her dismay,

She found that she was

Missing her shoe,

No, not the pair –

Just the one that would

Ensconce her left foot.

She did what she could,

What you normally would,

When such a thing happens;

She looked for it,

In the most obscure

And random spots

To be doubly sure,

While she held on to the other

In the broken pair.

She held on

For so long,

That it lost

Whatever allure

It orginally held,

And gathered dust

Besides a stale smell,

But she held on,

Or perchance it was

That she forgot.

For, what use a lonesome shoe?

II

What use staying true

To oneself

In a vicious world,

A world that can inflict a sting

So painful, it’d hurt to rise,

From the quagmire of lies

And the burden of being

The lone wolf?

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Sunshine, is welcome

But sometimes not,

When it gets too hot

For human comfort.

This fiery star

Heeds no one,

Choosing at times, to disappear

When we’d rather it not.

The sun shines,

And nature responds,

So too, the usually invincible human;

Our rythms and routines

Circadian or mundane,

Are set to follow

The powerful sun.

Sun shines,

Man cannot but abide

By this simple fact;

Man cannot control

What he cannot.

Every creature bidden

To stay hidden,

To escape man’s wrath,

Is but one ray away

From holding sway

And shining with power,

No longer seeking cover;

For it’s man who must,

As he would just

Seek the shade,

When the sun shines.

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The day the sun forgets to set

And the street lights fail to turn on,

The glow worms will be dulled

And the cicadas stilled,

While tired birds will circle

The sky, in confused whirls;

That day, light will have victory,

Vanquishing darkness

Which will have won

Even in defeat

As it beats its retreat,

Quiet, yet emphatic,

Taking with it

Quietude,

Respite, and solitude;

And the light that shines best,

When cocooned in the nest

Of cosy darkness –

Candle light,

Glow worms and star light,

And so too, street lamps,

And the headlights

From every vehicle on a sojourn,

Bearing weary souls

Returning home.

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Some day

Her smile will touch her eyes,

Which will twinkle

With the joy of life.

Some day

She’ll pack up her fears,

And drown them with her tears,

Deep in the ocean,

To the point of no return.

Some day

She’ll regain

The skip in her step,

And she’ll once again

Want to be heard, and to be seen.

Some day

She’ll want to wake up,

To sieze the day,

To have her say,

And to forge her way

Out of the darkness and the pain.

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A little child who is sat

On the edge of a playmat

With his little peers,

Each engrossed in their own worlds

Which is sometimes contained in a dolls house,

And at others in dump trucks or a stuffed Mickey Mouse,

Is encouraged to share

And to care;

And though he may scream,

Or stomp his little feet

In utter outrage,

He is shamed

Into complying,

For his parents want him to fit in,

Otherwise, “what will others think?”

But when he is a little older,

Him and his little peers –

They are inducted

Into the fun world of games,

Each a miniscule slice

Of the cake

That is life,

With myriad rules

That aim to find

Who gets to claim

Sweet victory,

Or who gets to seek,

While others hide;

There is very little,

Of inclusive camaraderie,

Of being together,

And of celebrating,

The sheer joy

Of abundant existence

That can be had

In the company of friends.

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In daring to dream

There is a sense of thrill,

And a purpose to life,

For it no longer feels like a drill,

Or an unending string

Of monotonous routine;

Instead, there is an eagerness

In your every step,

And much looking forward to,

Beyond the clear blue

Of the pristine sky

That stretches its wings,

Coaxing your mind

To give up its fears,

And instead give in

To the urge

To let go,

And fly,

Into the land of limitlessness

And infinite possibilities.

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When you feel all alone

Every drop of joy

Sapped of your bones,

And the will to go on

Is missing, just gone –

When all you feel instead,

In the blood coursing through your veins

And your throbbing head,

Is a deep sense of shame,

What do you do?

You get up,

Get dressed,

And show up anyway;

For the game,

It must go on.

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She was the quintessential starry eyed kid

With a bag full of dreams,

Most of which

Were rather fancy,

Perchance wild,

But none meek, or mild.

Then, life began to unfold

The bag became harder to hold,

And her dreams harder still,

To keep within;

Somewhere along the way

She wasn’t sure when,

They started to fall

One by one;

The going became easier for her,

The bag was lighter

After all;

But gone also

Was the wonder

And the enthrall;

For she had crossed

An invisible threshold

She had passed on

From living

To merely existing.

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I am the pain in your belly

That keeps you awake,

I am the breath in your body

That is life’s to give, and take;

I am the soulful melody

Surging through your soul

Whether you listen to me

Or not;

I am everything

You choose to ignore,

No indeed, to repress,

While you exist, with regrets.

Now, if only

You would open your eyes,

You would see me,

And the infinite beauty

I add to your life;

Even though it might seem

In the darkest moments

Like I’m adding strife,

Pain, and an element

Of deep melancholy.

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When I was young,

I was firmly

Tethered to my parent tree,

And although the summer breeze

Tried to sweep me

Off my proverbial feet

Many a times,

I was having none of it –

Overhanging the merry brook

As it gurgled along,

Singing its eternal song,

Life was mine, and I was its;

Until the time

By when, I’d wilted so,

And was young no more –

So the connection,

It broke;

And I wafted gently

In the air, aided by the breeze,

As I fell slowly

Into the merry brook

Which carried me,

Through many a nook,

And twists umpteen.

And very slowly,

Albeit surely,

I grew to like

This crazy ride;

This not knowing

What the next turn will bring,

Maybe I’ll be held in embrace

By that rock face,

Maybe I’ll skip and hop

As the water does, o’er the rocks;

Who knows?

But this I know

For sure,

That there is fun,

In this endless travel under the sun.

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