And what I've learned in this race called life is that you stop to help someone get back on their feet, tend to their wounds and make them feel better. And eventually they'll start running again, leaving you behind. And instead of chasing them, or expecting the same courtesy back, you should do what you do best: help the others who have fallen behind.

-

तुझसे इंतक़ाम कुछ इस कदर ले लिया,
मेरी मोहब्बत की मौत की साज़ा में,
मैनें तेरी बेवफ़ाई के किस्सों को अमर कर दिया।

-

I look at them and think,
"Wish I had something like that."
But never say it out loud.
Because saying it out loud,
will give that deceitful wish a voice.
And the last thing I want is
it's whispers haunting me forever.

-

WHAT THE INNER DEMONS WHISPER:

Just can't take that leap of faith anymore.
They'll let you down. Can't trust them.
Be kind and helpful, but always remain
aloof and unattached. Don't open up.
Don't expect. Don't fall for them.
Help them always, never seek help in return. Don't stay away, but be distant.
Never leave them; but if they do,
let them walk away.

-

That 15 second window, is where i see you.
At times, i pause it, just to look at you some more.
At times i watch it again and again.
But never further.
All the time that we have together is
That 15 second window.
And then, you're gone.

-

There's a thin line between being considerate and being intrusive.
And being overly kind, I often tend to cross it unknowingly.

-

They cut down the electricity and as I walk around on the terrace of my home. I spot the moon as it peeks meekishly, hiding behind the wavy branches of the majestic Gulmohar.

And maybe I've never noticed carefully before, or maybe it's because I'm wearing my glasses or maybe it's because the sky is in fact a little clearer. The stars seem abundant than before.

As the constellations mesmerize me, one particular person occupies my mind. We share the same sky, but her not being here with me, makes my heart ache.

But as philosophy takes over me and helps my heart transcend the physical: it tells me about the Unity of Souls and how I'll meet her someday.

-

An Evening spent on reminiscing about her.

Her face, glowing, like the setting sun,
Surrounded by hues of red and pink, remind me of her lips. The sky darkens into a shade of blue, like the dress she wore the first time I saw her.

As i turn to look above, the black sets in,
as her picture vanishes from my eyes. The colours vanish, only to remind me that no matter how fast I run towards her, she'll never stay with me.

And I spend the night, talking about her to the moon.

-

"And when you're in trouble, it's always there."
"Friendship?"
"Tch. Solitude."

-

The bell rings and the lecturer wraps up.
I stretch my numb body after an hour of torture. I look at the three sitting with me, the only ones i can appropriately call my friends and motion them to follow me out to the corridor to get some air.

As soon as I step out, she's already there. Standing alone, as always. As if that oblivious crowd in that room suffocated her. But eventually, her 'friends' come out to join her as well. I steal glances to see how she's doing. She smiles throughout.
But I know she's not happy.

I know it, because she told me.
I know it, because she, too, is like me.
And we just stand in our places,
In that overflowing, noisy corridor.
Where the only sounds that resonate are those of our screaming souls.

-