Remembrance

If you were to cast
a Patronus,
will I ever be at the
back of your mind?

Appearances

Unlike objects,
people in the
mirror
are further away
than they appear.

When the journey was the vacation

I still remember when I was a kid. Every year during Durga Pujo (yes, I'm Bengali. The universe made that decision long before I had any say in the matter), our entire family would go on a trip together.

It was never just my parents and me. There were my maternal grandparents, my aunt, and enough luggage to convince any passerby that we were relocating permanently rather than going on vacation.

The planning began at least a month in advance. While the adults worried about tickets, hotels, medicines, and all the practical things that apparently keep a family alive, I had only one concern:

Had we packed enough books?

Mine

I have been
many things
in my life,

"a passing phase",
"just a friend",
"not my type",
"downright ugly",

oh, and my favorite!

"a backup plan".

Yet, after all that,

I could never
become

"mine".

I promise

I promise

I will not be born
unto this world as
a woman.

That way, my parents
will not have to bear
the burden of
killing me even before
I am born.

I promise

I will be fair. And
I am not talking about
my morals, silly,
but my skin.

I promise

to live as
Auden's Unknown Citizen.

C'est la vie

Broken smiles
lying on sidewalks.

Dead loaves of
hope for sale.

Shattered dreams
soaked in blood.

Moth-eaten photographs
of a lost summer.

A few heartbreaks thrown
in for garnishing.

C'est la vie, my friend.
C'est la vie.

Broken

Everything is meant to be broken;
hearts,
dreams,
homes,
realities,
and even the darkest nights into
the first light of dawn.