the smell of gasoline and the
over-eager honks of rickshaw drivers
hangs
in the air. mosquito nets
and itch cream are
the currencies of me and my siblings,
our rewards:
a turn with the charging outlet or
sleeping next to the air conditioning for the night.

the fan whirrs steadily,
a futile attempt to ward off
the stagnant, humid atmosphere
settling over us. there
is sneeze-inducing masala everywhere— 
i anticipate dinner, remind myself
to thank my grandmother before we start.
...

i don’t want to forget about you / but i can't
think about anyone but you / you, pervasive,
invasive, haunting, chilling / i wish
i could think about / anyone anything
something but you
there is a / dent in the pot / and a 
coffee stain on the couch and / a chip
in my coffee mug / and all of it is you you you
and i want to forget now/ but i can’t forget-shouldn’t forget-don’t...

we're
supposed to be studying.

(we're not.) someone
throws
a pencil into a drain. it
cl a t  t  e  r   s
down, taunting. a
reminder. a 
warning,
maybe.

leaves scrape
a dissonant symphony
against the cement, an
unsettling susurra in 
the fragility of this moment.

our shadows lengthen, dusky
liminality when everything else
hovers in uncertainty,
too. our phantom coming-of-age. a brittle
silence— the signal of a generation compliant,
with everything to lose
and no one to care.

the...

Black booted feet beating on the forest floor I weave through the tall formidable soldiers of Mother Nature that surround me. My breath puffing out in a little cloud of condensation, I halt, shiver, and pull my coat around myself a little tighter. Filtered moonlight peeking through the rustic emerald canopy provides insufficient illumination for my cause.

Where is it?

Squinting, I attempt (in futility) to find my bearings in this dark, almost satanic, underworld. Making a snap decision I...

I have not been active in awhile... 

How is everyone?? How is this pandemic affecting you? What is it like where you live?

It has been absolutely surreal here.  Everyone is wearing face masks, restaurants are closed, people are trying to refrain from leaving their homes, and the city I live in just introduced curfews.  

I am trying to breathe in every moment of this experience because I know that this will definitely leave a mark on the world. 

Let's...

Some days I feel like it’s just me and the world.  No one else.  
    Those are the best days.  
    The days when I feel untouchable, and if I just reach high enough, I can touch the sky.  
    Nothing feels quite as frightening on those days. I don’t fear the unknown and I don’t live in my thoughts.  I just kind of am.  
    Today is one of those days.  
    On these days, I don’t make my...

Mirror, Mirror true and tall
Who's the smartest of them all
Not me?
What a shame.
But wait.
Haven't I already played this game?
Have you not guessed who I am?
What skin I wear beneath?
Why I dress like a lamb...
But I have such vicious teeth.

I can act a simple part
I can show that I am smart
But I do not show much more than that
What I am is not a known fact
You tear...

he said 'i love you' and she said it too. 
and then she began to think, how long must i pull through?
all she could think of is the life that she had to pursue and how she knew he was untrue. 
she knew they had different views, but it was the presence of each other that they were used to. 

he said 'i love you' but will he ever follow through? 
she continues to be used and abused and...

we're
supposed to be studying.

(we're not.) someone
throws
a pencil into a drain. it
cl a t  t  e  r   s
down, taunting. a
reminder. a 
warning,
maybe.

leaves scrape
a dissonant symphony
against the cement, an
unsettling susurra in 
the fragility of this moment.

our shadows lengthen, dusky
liminality when everything else
hovers in uncertainty,
too. our phantom coming-of-age. a brittle
silence— the signal of a generation compliant,
with everything to lose
and no one to care.

the...

Black booted feet beating on the forest floor I weave through the tall formidable soldiers of Mother Nature that surround me. My breath puffing out in a little cloud of condensation, I halt, shiver, and pull my coat around myself a little tighter. Filtered moonlight peeking through the rustic emerald canopy provides insufficient illumination for my cause.

Where is it?

Squinting, I attempt (in futility) to find my bearings in this dark, almost satanic, underworld. Making a snap decision I...

Some days I feel like it’s just me and the world.  No one else.  
    Those are the best days.  
    The days when I feel untouchable, and if I just reach high enough, I can touch the sky.  
    Nothing feels quite as frightening on those days. I don’t fear the unknown and I don’t live in my thoughts.  I just kind of am.  
    Today is one of those days.  
    On these days, I don’t make my...

he said 'i love you' and she said it too. 
and then she began to think, how long must i pull through?
all she could think of is the life that she had to pursue and how she knew he was untrue. 
she knew they had different views, but it was the presence of each other that they were used to. 

he said 'i love you' but will he ever follow through? 
she continues to be used and abused and...

And just like that,
The mist rose
From the city of green,
And suddenly a glow took over
Everything and anything,
A glittering crown 
Placed upon a golden brow.

Flecks of light danced
Among the feet of ancients.
Spirits of shadow soaked up the golden rays
And were freed at last.

A whispered breath of joy
Aroused the sleeping giants,
Waving their arms and shaking their heads
With its gentle force.
Songs of tiny creatures awakening
Filled the sacred air, ...

The clear river water looks green in the shade and blue in the sun. 

Soft currents push me along,
and small frogs swim among the rocky shallows.

I drift past umbrella leaves with long stalks, rooted in ice cold mountain streams.

The river delivers me over green deep patches, gilded pebble expanses, and algae clouds that mirror the sky above.

We have a picnic upstream, and a lazy ride back down.

My body warmed by the sun, I trail my...

Prizes!!!
    1st: Three reviews(  pieces of your choice); three likes and comments ( pieces of my choice)
     2nd: Two reviews( pieces of your choice), two likes and comments ( pieces of my choice)
    3rd: One review( a piece of your choice), one like and comment( a piece of my choice)
  Any Honorable Mentions will get comments on any 2 piece (one of your choice and another one of my choice.)
ALL PROMPTS WILL HAVE WINNERS If...

April 4, Saturday, 22:03
My Scheherazade, the only woman I love. Her form bit away the corners of my mind like an angry ocean sinking its fangs into the breast of a shore. When I loved her, Scheherazade was the passive Night, bejeweled, the secrets of a thousand years asleep within her eyelids.
It was only when I feared her that Scheherazade turned Night to Day and the secrets spilled awake. Yes, my Scheherazade was also the only woman I...