peace is when you feel at ease,
within your skin, in your own body,
peace is when, you close your eyes,
and exhale out, all your worries,
peace is when, you hold your love,
against the cold, of the winter nights,
peace is when, you hear the song,
of crickets, in the otherwise silent air,
peace is when, you could sleep,
without the occurrence, of nightmares,
peace is when, you see a flower,
and analyze, the vibrancy of its colors,
peace is when, someone thanks you,
for you have been good to them,
peace is when, you genuinely smile,
without a care, of those glaring eyes,
peace is when, you greet a friend,
even though, you have quarreled,
peace is when, you invoke your soul,
to shed away, the weights it carry,
peace is when, you cook a stew or curry,
and its aroma wafts, into your nostrils,
peace is when … whenever
you feel at peace

peace is when, I look into the mirror,
without sneering, at my own reflection,
peace is when, I could do something,
get a feel of activity, in these stationary days,
peace is when, I get to go outside,
and breathe the same air, as others,
peace is when, I find a song, long lost,
with the voice of which, I adjoin my voice,
peace is when, I realize something,
a solution, though temporary, but there,
peace is when, I receive a message,
from some one across the ocean,
peace is when, that some one asks me,
how I am, even though we have never met,
peace is when I find a piece of art,
beckoning me, to gape at it,
peace is when, I solve a puzzle,
for I see myself, in a positive light,
peace is when, I read someone’s writing,
and get caught into, the web of those words,
peace is when, I write few letters and punctuation,
dissolving my entirety into them,
peace is when… whenever I
forget about this life

I wish a piece of peace, for me,
and some more for you

Writhing in this reality, we cry, retching
From fumes that pervade society;
The clear skies that had been, mutating
Into an inferno that bleeds tragedy
As we lay in a sinking world of deceit.

Sinking in a stifling room, sunken eyes
Staring at sights that were never seen,
I torture this being that was once me.

With tarnished skin taunting, innocence
Inflamed, I lose myself to that madness
And in this demise, I dwell, desperately.

No more energy can I embrace, no more
Can people force forgiveness on my failings -
In this worthless state, so weak, I plead that the breath begone.

days
stretch over lifetimes,
as if all the clocks in the world
       wore themselves out —

and certain mornings
i shapeshift

i create different molds for myself
to fit into
i do not know why i must change
but i do know it helps.

the scissors clip and
my hair floats as fallen feathers
towards the base of the sink

i wake up only to
not recognize the girl in the mirror
and greet her w a smile.

she is
sad.
and there are so many worlds
she wishes she was exploring.

i wish i could help her.

but all i do is hurt her,
and i do not know where to
begin
asking for her forgiveness.

day 2

my world has felt like
it has crashed around me
so many times
that there is no dramatic reaction
to the pain that pools from my chest

as the storm tangles her claws in my hair
And rakes me across her bony spine
I stoop down to collect the pieces
broken, shattered , and rough
and tuck them quickly down my sleeve
I rebuild the same frame and heartbeat
The same breath and the same stretch marks

The puzzle fits together snugly enough
For the audience not to notice its cracks.

I did nothing wrong.
Why do I have the punishment?
Separated, outcast, cast aside.
Too inconvenient for acknowledgment.

Parties continue, pictures are taken.
I have been erased.
Wounded and broken, but instead of comfort:
"Why are you bleeding all over the place?"