Within Me

When I can no longer see,
Or recognise friend or foe,
When I cannot distinguish the voice,
Of a loved one, a one who's close,
When I cannot sit up and talk,
Or get up and walk,
I will still remember your song,
Not when sung out loud,
But playing within my soul,
Heard only by me, by none else,

For then though my muscles shall be weary,
I shall smile within despite being dreary,
Remembering perhaps not your face,
Nay, even your name or voice,
But that joy that'd always spring,
When I'd hear you sing,

I may not say this then, perhaps ever,
But know this for now and forever,
That no matter how deep I dig,
Within the depths of what I call my soul,
You lie there, always at a moment's call,

I see you in my darkest corners,
Hear you in my quietest moments,
Feel you in the most disconnected of times,
And talk to you when I'm mute beyond words,

Something beats for you within me,
Alongside the heart that pounds daily,
Something of you breathes within my chest,
Alongside the breath that goes in and out.

Written at 3:37pm on the plane on 25.4.2017. Some edits made a few days later. Some edits made by 1:51am on 5.5.2017 (at room) and some more by 2:06am.

On some level this seems to have been inspired by 'Tumi Robe Nirobe' written by Rabindranath Tagore.

Carnal Disease

Pockets of flesh covered by skin,
Some heavy, some light,

Some say it's nature, some call it sin,
Why on earth should its touch I crave?
Yet it's a desire that sticks to me tight,
All the way up to my cold, dark grave.

I found this while browsing through my personal archives on Google Keep and realised I had to post it. I think I intended to stretch it out as a full poem eventually and was probably tired, considering the time at which I wrote it. I should've probably added it to my Short scribbles page but somehow found it as mainstream poetry material and hence I'm putting it here. I'll probably change the title some time.

Written at 3:44am on 13.11.2016 at C504, H13, IIT Bombay Edited at 5:12pm on 4.5.2017. Further edits made up to 5:50pm on 4.5.2017 at room

The Night We Met

'Twas a noisy crowd,
Crazy, confused and loud,
Bright light seeping through gaps,
Between dark people walking in groups,

I looked between them hoping to see beyond,
Wanting to breathe a little through eyes and lungs,
And then I saw a blinding sight,
That took away both sight and breath,

You stood there, in search of something or someone,
Just like me, only I'd found mine,
As you found what you sought, I lost my heart,
Ending the search I'd set out upon so late,

Oh a search it was indeed,
Ending not in attainment nor in cede,
But the loss of the searcher himself,
'Twas the greatest search of my life,

My soul tore into pieces, becoming whole again,
Brimming in joy at this newfound gain,
I swam in the depth of your beauty,
Forgetting the worries of life and duty,

I waited, fervently for you to see me,
And at long last did your eyes meet mine,
The wait for acceptance lasted aeons,
But the smile of embrace took away all pains,

And today, after years, as I hold your hand,
That day comes as a wave, consuming my mind,
Sweetened like your jam, by the crystals of time,
It's a memory, a thought that none can mime.

Written at 9:27pm on 28.4.2017
Small changes made at 11:46am, 2.5.2017

Context: When Swati Hegde asked me to listen to a song of this title in an Uber cab with Shubham (we were going out for dinner) I liked the title so much that I decided to write something on it. I typed it out on my phone in the moving cab.