What is a haiku?

What is a haiku

When robbed of structure

Lines and syllables

That differentiates it from

A non-haiku?

What is a poem

Written for happiness

For the winning of award

When poems are born

In the the sorrows of the mind?

What is love

When it is found in

Every nook and corner

Giant teddy bears

Melting chocolate

Dying flowers?

What is a life

Deprived of all cravings

Reduced to moments

Following a pre-decided upon path

With a heavy heart?

Who are you

When you take what isn't yours

From someone who isn't yours

And give nothing at all

In return?

What are these words

I leave behind

Never to be read

By the one person

I have dedicated my every word to?

Mosquito

I want to kill it

The mosquito that peacefully

Clings to the blue tiled wall

That reminds me of the ocean

In the toilet in which

I sit on a white commode

And wait for my body to

Shit whatever is ready for disposal

For it has something

That I want

As it calmly clings to the wall

That reminds me of the ocean

Its own kind

Restless

Whir around me

Look for the juiciest part of my human body

To feast on

And I don't want to kill them

Because they are as empty as I am

Unable to quietly meditate

Like the mosquito that clings to the ocean-like wall

Death

If you are lucky, they'll remember you after you die

Talk about you weeks after your funeral

Write about you

Share photographs and memories

Claim to have known you

If you are lucky, they'll remember you after you die

And if you aren't

If you are one of those unfortunate souls

That can die without anyone noticing

Then your name will be forgotten even before

It is engraved on a tombstone

For the grave bearing your name

A grave no one will visit

Untitled

On some days I find myself with the courage to admit
What I want out of life someday
These words I write
Typed on paper
Bound together
Filling bookshelves
So that when the days are dark
My eyes will not be burnt by the
Glow of a computer screen
Technology I detest
But rely on
To store my words
Thoughts I must rid from my mind
For they burn like a fire
Just like the one that gives me the courage to admit
What I want out of life someday
But the fire dies a sudden death
And my courage flutters away from me like butterflies
And then I'm left with nothing but self-doubt
That cripples
And twists out of my heart
Every ounce of strength
I had
All that my dreams are made of

Stranded

Here I am

Sitting away from them

Removed

From family

The people I’ve known all my life

Their voices reach me

Conversations I’m not part of

Partly by choice

Partly out of having no other choice

For I no longer feel

One with them

They

Sibling and mother

Are on mainland

And I

Stranded on an island

With rising water levels

And it blinds me when the sun

Hits it with force

The blade I used to

Cut the bridge made of rope

That connected us

Their hearts and mine

Blood bonds that are supposed to make us stronger

Not weaker

Not more afraid

Or angry

Not more unsure of life

And as I feel waves

Lap at my feet

I close my eyes

Wave goodbye

Silence their voices

Ignore the words that reach me

Of conversations I am not part of

Neither as participant nor topic

And unknown to them perhaps

Hopefully

I cut them from my heart

Thread by thread

Just like the blade

Sliced through the bridge made of ropes

That connected me to them

That connected this island of mine

To the safety of mainland

Don't worry about me

Don't worry about me

Not this time

You go ahead

Don't stop because of me

But let me rest

Just for a while

I'll meet you somewhere

Along the way

But don't you worry

I will catch up somehow

I won't get lost

I won't go back

Just let me rest

For I'm too tired

To take even a single step

Forward

Don't worry about me

Not this time

Let go of me

Let me be

I promise you

I just need to rest

Soon I'll be fine

And I'll come find you

So go ahead

Leave me behind

Don't worry about me

I'll be fine

Not you, but me

It's not you

It's me

It's all on me

It has nothing to do with you

When your message has been seen, read

But not responded to

It's not you

It's me

When I've seen that missed call from you

But don't call back

It's not you

It's me

When you see me in a crowd, wave

And I smile slightly, walk away

It's not you

It's me

When I don't let you

Into my life

It's not you

It's me

Looking for you

I've begun looking for you
After all these years
In places I know
I won't run into you
I look for you in
Bookstores you've abandoned
I look for you in restaurants
And cafes
While I dine with friends or by myself
Wondering if you go there anymore
I look for you in buses I take
Although our routines
Aren't the same
I look for you at the various events
I know you will never attend
I look for you because
After all these years
My heart stubbornly refuses to let go
And I look for you in places
I know I'll never find you
Because our minds often
Trick our hearts into believing they are
Getting what they want
And so
As I look for you in places
I know I'll never run into you
A familiar voice or figure
Will make me pause for a moment
Body going cold
Lungs heavy without the breath I forgot to take
And for just one moment I wonder
If I've finally found you
In a place I thought I never would