One More Light

Playing victim How easy it is Always showing how you got hurt Always showing others how HE hurt you Shifting blame on someone else, Off your shoulders, Not caring how the other one felt How he crippled and cracked and then…. Well then he burst Burst to bomb away all the dirt, all the weight, all the toxications Away, away from his life, away from his choices Away from his decisions, away from his happiness Away from his smile. So now he smiles Turned tables haven’t we? I don’t feel guilty anymore maybe that’s why you feel I’m sly, Never saw me without it, rather never let me live without it But yeah, You can pretend all you want Because I don’t need to anymore I don’t need to pretend to be happy anymore Because, I am smiling With all of myself.

A sparrow came and sat by my window, Do you have a letter from my love? I haven’t heard from her since quite a time now. Will you tell me how she is? The sparrow smiled, but did nothing. I searched ever part of it for the smallest bit of paper, Paper which would bring life to my day, Paper with her smell of love and letters of care, But, I found nothing. Didn’t she write anything? The sparrow did nothing, but smiled again. I got sad Maybe I wouldn’t hear from her today. But Wait, how can I see the smile? What’s glowing in his eyes? Why is it so comforting to me? Then it struck upon me, “Tell her that I love her too”, The words came out. And then, Done with his job, He pecked my finger, And went away, Flying high back to where he came from, He gave me my message And my heart too.

I walk down a dusty lane, defying the rules imposed But of course Medicines I had to take with a few chocolate bars I saw 5 people in a temporary shelter, Hungry, with a baby crying And also found 4 people just across Smoking a cigar and holding a beer while dancing I knew the baby was crying because he hadn’t eaten since a while now I couldn’t do anything except for giving them the chocolate bars Which I did, but I knew it wouldn’t fulfil their hunger, So the Next day I went again to buy some more candies But what I saw was astonishing The lane wasn’t dusty now, there were people all rushing to go And there was also one temporary shed, ignored by everyone They didn’t have food, but still they stayed in They didn’t even have a roof, but still they stayed in They didn’t have Netflix to relax, but still they stayed in If they could do it, why couldn’t I? Why couldn’t those people who puffed cigars and gulped wine Stay indoors? I couldn’t find the ans...

Everyone was beaming today after epochs Brightened faces with wrinkles The old mother who hadn’t smiled since ages smiled today The thought of sufficient food for even a person had never crossed their minds They had embraced malnutrition just like the poverty which now seemed chronic to them This light of unlimited food for all of them by the leader was too bright for them This meant the old hag didn’t have to wash away her little breaths now, By washing other people’s clothes This meant that dad didn’t have to see his bloody hands ever again I was very happy as a child but my dad wasn’t smiling I asked him whats the matter He told me these lights They’ve enlightened his life way too many times before But all the lies pushed him into the darkness much more So now these lights don’t help his gloom Because “Not seeing light is better than seeing a blinding one”

Tap, I wake up Tap, I thank god I'm fit Tap tap, life gets fast Tap, I think about you Tap, I see a difficulty Crossover, I try to go past it I can't Maybe I should give up Tap tap, I don't give up Tap, alive again Swish, I win Tap That's all I hear That's where I learn everything from that's all I think That's all I love Tap That's where I'll stop - a basketball player

An ant passed by! Another one. I wonder, what i dropped this time, I find my ant repellent , Try to follow them to the place of their gathering, "Mass killing this time", I wonder, But wait, They were mourning At least, that's what it looked like. There was the queen ant, Dead Carried by 10 ants. I still had the repellant, 1 push and they would all be dead. But, wait Am i reginald dyer? Is this the jallianwala bagh? Are these the people mourning the death of queen mother India? If I can think about all this while they being ants, Those were humans! Goosebumps rose all over me. I couldn't fire, But he did.

I ran I ran like I never had Feet stumbling, unknown roads to new destinations I ran like I never was set loose Ran away from all those shackles, ropes But when I started running I felt the difference The air didn't smell of the flowers and scent sticks It was now filled with the smell of sanitizer The roads weren't endless now, Every turn had a barrier The sunrise wasn't greeted happily by everyone Instead, everyone was fearful if they were the next There weren't religious music blaring now Instead, there were sirens wailing all around This world wasn't what I wanted to see This world isn't I wanna live in This world isn't what is gonna stay So until then, I'll do my part I'll stay inside And when the world is without the red alarms again I'll run, Run back on the endless roads.

बोहोत दिनो बाद लिखने की याद आयी है इस दिल को थंडा करने   वजह नई आयी है बेहते हुए इन आसुओँ को इन अल्फाज़ो से छुपाने कि याद आयी है बोहत दिनो बाद लिखने की याद आयी है ..| बरसात मे तुम्हारे छीकने कि याद जो आयी है और मुझपर पानी छिडक कर तुहारी वो मुसकुराहट भी लायी है बस इस्स बार तुम नहीं हो साथ ये यादेँ बारिश साथ लायी है अपने दुखो को तुम्हरे हाथो मै ना जोड सकने कि एक नई दूरी साथ लायी है बोहत दिनो बाद लिखने की याद आयी है ......| तम्हारा मुजपर छोटी बातों पर गुस्सा हो जाना मुजको सताती है तुमको मानने के लिये एक नया नुस्का बनाने की एक उमंग साथ लायी है , पर ना देख पाउंगा तुम्हे ये याद मुझे फिर से आयी है नाकामियाब हो गया मै इसकी निराशा दिल मे बसायी हुई है बोहत दिनो बाद लिखने की याद आयी है ......||

We were travelling by train one day, Don’t know if it was the winds carrying us along or we clinging to it, If it was Sunlight filling our cabin or we patching a darkness in the summery day, Or maybe if it was us running with the farms or they chasing us. But, We were all together- All of us, Differentiated, segregated into different seats based on our incomes, Me, in the highest class, the migrant who had crossed me, in the lower But we were together All of us We drank the water from the same mineral bottle Mine a new one, his epochs old. But we were all together. One time he tried getting into our compartment To just let his 3 year old sick one be relieved from the scorching heat And was brutally discharged And one time I almost missed the train on one station And he lent his hand out to me. We had seats vacant to accommodate 3 people at least And they couldn’t even have a place to sit for themselves Still he lent his hand out to me To he...

"Rape me too," she said, Like you did, to that 5-year-old, Who had just learnt the word beauty; Well, you showed her what the beauty of the world is, She was 5 years old when you did that, I'm 24. Why don't you do it to me? Just because I'm your sister doesn't make a difference, does it? Because even she is a sister, a daughter, a fairy for her dad. You did that to her, Do it to me as well What's stopping you? If her screams of help through the pain couldn't stop you, What will, What is stopping you? Just do it and leave, Just like you did to her. Just because she was a 5 year old didn't give you the right to do anything,  Nothing ever will. But just do it. I'm your sister right, do it to me as well, ruin my life too, Like you ruined hers. She had just started taking her first steps,  And you took the worst ones with her. Just rape me, brother. Well, You can't. Because I'm strong, Like every woman out there, Every woman who will stand u...