Break the barriers of history, of memory.
Move on, flow like the petulant stream.
Wash the sins, the guilt of a past bygone
Rediscovered, be a new human being.

Let not the passions burn unhindered,
Let the forest of your soul not be burnt.
Let not your indiscretions cage you,
Let them not bind you, make you cry.

Make this move today, to a happier place
Forget those who came, just move on.
Leave your old wrinkled skins behind,
Put on the robe, the king of your life!

When the emptiness starts screaming,
When the mind seeks distractions.
When motion and voice are soothing,
Perhaps there is need for a re-think.

If the self cannot find peace with itself,
If it always seeks worldly confirmations.
Then perhaps it is time to introspect,
To shred the baggage of confabulations.

The lenses of opinions to be discarded,
The burden of memories brushed aside.
The voices and views be irrelevant,
Then, perhaps, the truth will emerge.

What if the relentless sweeping sands of time
Had not eroded those moments, that phase?
What if our battles with the world, individually
Had not separated us with this blinding haze?

What if those beautiful moments lived on,
Not only in our memories, but every day?
What if you were here, sitting next to me
Would it have changed what I have to say?

What if the warmth of your love lived on
Would it have made this life tolerable?
What if we had never been separated
Would impending death have been honorable?

I wish these 'what ifs' did not torment me,
Keep me awake at nights, restless, motionless.
But when will my mind stop chasing them,
When will eternal peace visit my uprooted home?

The breath separating from my body,
The darkness, the fume-filled drudgery,
The faint light creeping into my dark house,
The lights of Diwali aren't meant for me.

The inner world in a futile effort at peace
Against the ostentation of the world outside.
For not being able to breathe, able to see
The lights of Diwali aren't meant for me.