And I didn't know
that "I love you" could be
the ugliest words
I'd ever hear
until I saw them
coming from your lips,
the lips that were still
painted red with my blood.

-

I wonder
when we talked that day
till 4 in the morning,
blurting out secrets lurking
in our shadows for so long,
speaking and not listening,
listening and not speaking,
moving towards the silence
that felt like dawn,
battered and bruised
till our eyes were droopy,
and souls a little less heavy,
while we watched together
the silver linings of the morning sky,
thinking maybe we had aligned,
do you think
that the universe took pity
at our naivete
and granted us some sun-filled days
knowing fully well
that we didn't belong in each other's sky.

-

सूरत अपने वो देखे क्या,
दर्पण ही जिसका खंडित है।
संयासी जिसका मन हीं हो,
उसको माला क्या जपना है।
जो रमता सबमें राम वही,
योगी, भोगी घनश्याम वही।
तीरथ, धामों या निर्जन में,
बेकार ही सारा तपना है।

- ज्योतिरादित्य

-

सत्य सदा धारण करने को,
संत सभी कहते आए,
आँख खुली जबसे मैं पाया,
झूठे ही सब सुख पाए।

- ज्योतिरादित्य

-

You're a poem,
And one day, I will write you too;
I'll bleed you out
On the blank pages of my past,
I'll read them aloud
Till forever they last.

But you're a poem,
And you'll not last long,
And one day, I'll end you too;
You'll move on
To another poet;
I'll remember you
Like the abandoned lines
Of a forgotten verse.

And may be then we shall meet,
On the other side of those pages,
On the other side of the blue ink,
On the other side of someday.

-

On some faraway island,
I am trained to make a home,
I am trained to be a lonely sailor,
I am trained for the creaky boat,
I am trained for dragons in the sea
But not for the comfort of the ship,
I’ve been prepared for loneliness
But never for LOVE,
I’ve been prepared for shipwrecks
But never for HOPE.

-

यूँ ज़लालत भरी निगाहों से ना देख
मेरी तमाम नाक़ामयबियों को,
इन गलतियों ने ही तो रखा हैं ज़िंदा
मेरे अंदर के इंसानियत को।

- ज्योतिरादित्य

-

when you undressed him
was it me you thought of

when you kissed him
did you trace his body
with your fingertips
imagining my silhouette

when you whispered in his ear
did you say my name

as you went down
did the taste of him
make you choke
because my taste is
stained on your tongue.

-

Searched you in the wild
Found you above the stars
Met you on the moon
Felt you in my soul
Wrapped you in my breath
Caged you in my heart
Killed you in my obsession
Lost you within myself.

-

You rape her. You rape her when the "man" next to you molests her, and you do nothing. You rape her when you join others in slut-shaming her for her short dress or life choices. You rape her when you laugh at crass jokes about her character. You rape her when you leak out her number to friends. You rape her when you find stalking romantic. It's not just the "man" who actually rapes her, you're also a rapist, if you've looked away. The cancer starts small, before it spreads. So before posting "Hang The Rapists", ask yourself: "Am I also a rapist?". Just honestly, ask yourself, my friend.

-