distilled lives~
packed in instant coffee

silence dripping over the counter
dishes wait in earnestness

bitter skies~
the taste of each season
hangs in mid sentence
being incomplete is
where yearning lives
in the corner of your heart
the side pocket of your pants
the inner sleeve of your tote
the zip sleeve of the wallet~
you live in bits
and breathe in gasps
with aching lungs

the pulse at the heart of your ache~
beats in odd numbers
synchronizing itself to the wall clock

you  peel cool cucumbers

clocking yourself for precision
divided~
between lunch and dinner
and at sunset you will
pour yourself into a glass
of ginger water with half a lemon
squeezed to its last drop
rest against a tired wall
sip to vacant eyes
exhausted dreams
lost yearnings
memories of laughter
under a banyan tree
come flooding twilight
you smile
dark nights huddled together
warm your toes
you move them slightly
and they crack tiredness
the moon whispers your name
the sky bursts open into a thousand stars
despite the bitterness
that chokes the atmosphere

if you smile back
you know that will change
the way the clock strikes
the way yearnings hide
in pockets of your life
you are trying to forget
and remember
at the same time
between time and meals
between the house
   and  you

it’s ok to do that
to not leave either
and keep both.
the hands of the clock
will split you in minutes and hours
you will breathe life into the pauses between the giving
and your taking
it will be

fine, you should know
I must tell you
goddess woman
goddess mother, wife and daughter
you must know
you are the stars at night and the moon over the lake

when they distill you
star dust falls from your body
it scares them

it should
you should

…

Dee is from lahore. loves old trees, words and surreal nights~