Wednesday, November 15, 2023

 

A Day In The Life Of....


It's been a long, tiring day at work

The traffic was insane! 

I chipped a nail trying to open my yogurt cup at lunch. 

Uugghh! I hate when that happens! 


Will my work emails ever stop coming in?

Have to get groceries on my way back home, I remind myself.

I have a huge pile of laundry waiting for me. 

The family orders from Uber Eats. No one wants to cook today.


I scroll instagram mindlessly - fashion, cooking, dance reels and comedy shorts.

Make 'rum log cake' for Thanksgiving.  A mental note. 

My son reminds me he needs cupcakes for the bake sale in school tomorrow.

Why does he always remember these 'to-dos' at 9pm?


Several reminders later, my son begrudgingly goes to bed.

I give him a tight hug and kiss him goodnight.

He says he wants to be wrapped like a 'burrito' in his covers tonight.

I laugh at his innocence and wrap him in his space rocket bedsheet. 


Gosh! I need to send out 'save-the-dates' for that dinner and birthday party in December.

I have to RSVP for my niece's wedding in January.

Did I miss calling the doctor's office today? That sinus is not going to cure itself! 

I'm too tired to do my night time skin routine. Retinol-serum-mask-moisturizer or some other order?


Did I remember to charge my car? 

The weighing scale needs new batteries; it's always five pounds over!

That reminds me, I haven't shown my face at the gym in months.

May be I should take up Pilates! 


It's 10 PM. Nothing interesting on Netflix.

I grab my phone. Perhaps I should check instagram again and drift off.

I can hear the faint sound of the white noise machine drifting from my son's bedroom.

The moon look gorgeous shining outside my window.


A news channel I follow just shared a video.

The photographer who is also a dad, lost four of his five children in a bombing. Just one survived.

He also lost three of his siblings in the same attack. His four storied house reduced to rubble.

Dust and smoke everywhere.


He looks for his kin, digging through the debris with his bare hands.

Not a tear in his eyes.

He was on a mission. He just kept doing what he had to. No emotion. He found them eventually.

Prayers were whispered over their still, lifeless bodies that were wrapped in white.


My heart beat out of my chest; tears welled up.

I feel so helpless and guilty!

Why won't anyone stop this? Is no one concerned. These are children! 

Where and how can I send aid? But will it ever reach them?


The comments section is rife. 'Thoughts and prayers", they say.

Some are angry; at the state of the world, at our governments, at our apathy! 

Some are laughing. "They deserve it", they say! 

How are they so cruel?, I think. These are someone's children!!


The aggrieved dad suddenly bursts into uncontrollable tears.

"Have mercy good God!", he cries with a primal ache from the pits of despair.

I try to put myself in his place.

I. Just. Can't. Fathom! 


Someone yells in the background as they lower those babies in their makeshift graves.

"Put the youngest one in first... right in the middle. The older ones will go by his side", they say.

He gives each of his now dead children one last kiss, knowing that they won't wake up tomorrow. 

A loud zooming rocket sound distracts everyone.


The surviving child, merely a year or two old, hangs on to his father, on his shoulder.

He is quiet. Unsmiling. 

Those the most cold and unemotional eyes I've seen on a human.

The trauma this child will go through IF at all he survives, I lament in my mind! 


My phone buzzes.

"Are you up for a girls night out this Saturday? Drinks and dinner at our usual watering hole!"

"Yes", I text back.

I set my alarm for 6 am for the next day.


It's 11 PM. I rest my head on my memory foam pillow and snuggle into the plush heated blanket. 

Can't sleep. My mind's racing. I get up again and walk to my son's bedroom. 

I kiss him and whisper how much I love him, in his ears. 

I linger a little longer.


Oh! I can't forget those cupcakes for my son's bake sale. He loves the ones with choco chips in it! 

My phone buzzes again. An update from Netflix.

The crime drama I love is back with a new season. 

I need to catch up with it sometime this week.


I walk back to my room. The moon has shifted its position. 

I can hear the owl hooting in the distance. I sink into bed.

Turning to my husband, I kiss him goodnight.

Lights out. The bed's warm.









Thursday, August 11, 2016

The Little Things




An unnoticed tear

A silent sigh

Fallen eyes 

And a broken spirit

'Is everything OK?', he asked her one evening, his eyes glued to his phone.

She smiled and said, 'Yes, never been better'.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Life & Death



And they flirted

Day and night

Since the beginning of time




They were bound 

by the laws of the universe

In eternal love sublime




She kept sending him

myriad gifts 

Some say, 'it was destiny'




He saved them all

in his heart

For the rest of eternity. 




Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The Window

I saw you everyday
By at the blue window frame
White lace curtains flapping in the wind
And a mighty maple tree reaching out to you

I saw you everyday
Sometimes whistling a tune
Or brushing your bewitching, long tresses
And other times, watching the world go by
Picture courtesy: Meraki Pictures

I saw you everyday
From when we were kids
To before you moved away 
In a red mini van with your family

I saw you everyday
And it filled my day with purpose
I felt I could conquer the world
I looked forward to another glorious day

I saw you everyday
But not once did you glance at me
A lorn lad, looking for acknowledgment
May be, just may be, she'll look at me today

I passed by your house today
The blue on the window has faded
the wood crumbling
The curtains no longer ruffle

But the mighty maple ...

Still stands
the leaves still change every autumn
And they come back each spring
Just the same.

Monday, September 28, 2015

The Super Blood Moon




Picture credit: Meraki pictures



Engulfed by darkness

Losing its own shine

The red creeping slowly

Onto the moon divine



Oh! What a sight to behold

Awestruck at this heavenly marvel

Slowly moving from gloom to light

Our very own celestial marble.





Thursday, March 5, 2015

A Victim, Victimized!

Can I un-see
What I already saw?

Can I un-feel
What I already felt?

Can I un-fear
The fear that's already within me now?

Can I feel unashamed
Because it wasn't my fault.

Can I feel loved again
Like I've deserved to be felt always?

Can I feel un-talked about
It's really my private hell

Can I un-cringe anymore
At the very act of all men?

Can I ever feel un-deafeated
Like I felt before?

Can I un-weep
At my brutal past?

Can I un-taint my skin
Free of scars and strife?

Can I un-cage my soul
To let it soar like it used to?

Can I un-shatter
These broken pieces of my life?

Can I un-hear
These judgmental voice around me?

CanI feel un-vulnerable
And trust again?

Can I feel un-destroyed
Go back to being the strong-me?

Can I feel un-guilty
It wasn't my lapse in judgment

Can I feel un-robbed
Of a real relationship?

 But before I answer all these questions ....

Can you un-notice me
I'm not your private property

Can you un-touch me
The gruesome way you did?

Can you undo everything,
Everything?

Can you be a 'real man'?
Because I wasn't 'asking for it'!

Can you stand up for my cause? 
Because it is not my battle alone now! 




Tuesday, February 3, 2015

I want to know 'YOU'

I want to know the real 'you'.


I want to know the direction in which you twirl, 
the pretty tendrils of you hair when in deep thought

I want to know why you shy away or purse your lips so, 
When put on the spot

I want to know how your eyes light up
when you playfully banter with me

I want to know how those dimples dance in your cheeks
when you smile gladly, sweet pea! 

I want to know how you wiggle your nose,
when something you hate

I want to know what completes the smile
That your deep blue eyes started to relate

I want to know the click of you heel
When you enter the door

I want to know how you glide by me
With your intoxicating perfume galore

I want to know how you dance
To the beat of your own song so merrily

I want to know how your goosebumps feel
When I touch you tenderly

I want to know what irks you 
and what your heart really desires

Your hopes, dreams and ambitions
Thoughts, reflections and memories!


I want to know the real 'you'.