cherishing the pain of losing
yourself completely for
someone else until they become
the centre of your universe.
Is this the love you
have always wanted,
to give everything to someone
who might one day forget
the sound of your name?
Or maybe you already knew;
it’s not love if you don't know
who you are anymore.

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वो चाँद-सा ख़्वाब है, जिसे निहारना भी बस दूर से मुमकिन है।

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नींद आए तो ख़्वाबों में तू, ना आए तो ख़यालों में भी तू।

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हर दुआ में मांगा, चाहत से भी बढ़कर है यह वफ़ा,
रूह की इबादत, और दिल का सुकून है बस वफ़ा।
हम ढूंढते हैं उसे हर सजदे की राहत में,
पर ढूंढे से भी न मिले, कुछ ऐसी है ये वफ़ा।

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यह मोहब्बत, यह दीवानगी, यह वादे,
टूट गए सब सपने, रह गई बस तन्हा यादें।
आंखें बेजान, मन परेशान और दिल खफ़ा
ज़ख्मों से प्राण ही निकल जाए, कुछ ऐसी है ये वफ़ा।

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Sometimes I wonder - what is self-love?
What does it mean to truly love yourself?
Is it holding yourself to impossible standards,
never quite feeling like you measure up,
or learning to forgive yourself,
to be gentle with who you are,
and slowly starting to love your inner beauty,
the one only you’ve truly known,
and are finally learning to see.

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And sometimes you wonder,
Are you really broken?
Are you trying to forget the painful memories,
or relive them; just to remind yourself
that you deserve the ache they bring?
Are you truly moving on,
or circling back in a vicious loop,
trapping yourself in the very past you fear?
Are you really devoid of emotion,
or just locking it all away,
like your silent screams for help
that never made it past your lips?
Are you really coming undone,
or quietly undoing the process,
because deep down,
you always knew;
you were never really unbroken?

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to yet another sunrise,
with stories unfolding
in an unmoving dream.
I wonder what it feels like
to revisit the memories
of moments that
no longer exist;
maybe because they were
hidden under pretence,
or maybe because they are
too real to look in the eye.

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A Thousand Tides

I am water, you are stone,
I fall over you, again and again,
Curling around your silence,
Hoping you might soften.

They say I shape you over time,
Yet after a thousand tides,
No crack or whisper breaks your stillness,
I remain unseen and untouched,
Like shadows fading in the dark.

Countless waves of unrequited feelings;
I still hold it tight within my heart,
The pain of loving you deeply.
For letting go was never an option.

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नींद की लोरी

नींद, वक़्त कभी ऐसा भी था,
जहाँ तेरा मेरा कोई वादा था।
साथ निभाने की तड़प में, यकीनन एक ख्वाहिश-भरा नाता था,
शायद कभी पूरा ना हुआ, यह बंधन हमेशा ही अधूरा सा था।
अब वीरान रातों में तेरा ही इंतज़ार आता है,
चाहा तो बस मैंने इतना कि फिर कोई लोरी बन जाए,
जो तेरी यादों से बहकर सुरों में खो जाए,
जैसे मेरा दिलबर मुझे कभी गुनगुनाता था।

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