A promise is a promise.
Only a lie can be made
with an expiration date in mind.

You and I
are the sand and sea,
we will always keep coming
back to one other.

You and I
are the trees of eternal spring,
we shall never leave.

Not every day is remembered
as special or significant,
not every word spoken between us
is Hallmark worthy.
But love is never absent
and what is shared
never forgotten.

Alone we are
merely ordinary,
together we are considerable,
whether it’s sharing ice cream
or each other’s
aches and pains.

The road we traverse,
hand-in-hand,
may be covered with obstacles & illusions,
but the horizon
is hardly false.

For look!
God himself smiles upon us.
These vows are indeed
of an endless variety...

I always wondered,
Why in my culture, we wore a red
And not a white
Then I remembered she is a woman
Her blood is rinsed with sacrifice
And on the day of matrimonial happiness
She shall bleed out
Maybe it’s a cry for change,
Or maybe it’s compromise in its most crimson reflection
But when her hands are stained with henna
And her arms laced in embroidered elegance
Does her blood begin to change?
And if it doesn’t, will she be thrown away
Like the burden on her fathers head?
That chokes him from the day she was born to the day she is wed
Is that why her mother once wore the colour red?
I think to myself,
a lamb bleeds too when it’s cut for it’s meat,
And then it’s coat is no longer light
Is that why she wears red and not white?

Celebrating
The impending train wreck
Showing up doubtful
Mourning the losses in advance
A ticket to ride
With an expiration date?
Putting in an preorder for
Refunds on congratulations
Hoping this train doesn’t jump
The tracks once it leaves the station
You aren’t the conductor
Or the passenger
Step aside and watch
Get out of the way
Cringing, hoping and praying
You can’t look away
This is not a game
Now pronounced farewell
Yourselves will be to blame

You’re the man I want to be with for the rest of my life
But I don’t know why I’m suffering this strife
It seemed that fate won’t let you be mine
I know you’ll leave me after some time

Yes, I still imagine myself walking down that long aisle,
My face showing a big smile
For there you are at the altar, waiting
Before the church bells go ringing

Yet as I am near the altar now
About to take my wedding vow
Another guy grabbed my arm
As I looked at him, with his smile so warm
My heart was shattered for it felt so harmed

And there you are
Still standing on the altar
You gazed at me, I tried to avoid it
But when I looked at you, I cried and couldn’t help it
When you muttered the words:
“In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit”.

If love was forever
Why did you part

If love was loyalty
Why did you seek others

If love was vowed
Why did you break it

If it was meant to be,
Why was it not meant for love?

We are almost lovers, our vibes nearly in harmony
Time was something we wished we kept in a jar
If young promises are tomorrow vows in ceremony,
Then why do I keep watching you two from afar?
These pews looked like tall walls of maturity
Keeping me away from the temptation to intervene
I promised to not let go, let it flow, desperately
But why today is what we could've been?
I forgive you and myself for everything
This is the ending, a closure, faded old picture
I know we could've been something
But I know today is a farewell to treasure

time and again,
her steps
are sprinkled
with rose petals,
well-wishes,
and kisses.

her dress
is elegant
and fair,
yet understated,
so as not
to outdo
the woman of the day.

"affect not
little shifts
and subterfuges
to avoid
the force
of an argument,"
she patiently
holds her breath
for everyone
except herself.

she may
hold the line
with her
precarious walk,
and yet,
"there is always
a prepared place
for a prepared
person."

her very next step
belongs to
no one else,
sprinkled
with song
overflowing
unto her,
as the dawn
breaks within
the fenced walls
of her own heart.

--this is her day.

--this is her time to love.