Nalini Priyadarshni

… then you entered
smiling
with a cigarette dangling from your fingers
and unhinged my grip
from the frame
my life had settled in.

Somewhere between the cycle of
awakening and surrender
I stepped out of myself
into the tapestry of chaos
woven with longing.

And now, everything’s a blur
except those moments when we are together
forging new language
to seek each other’s shallowness and depth
retrieving lost worlds
in primal and perennial conversations
with new fluency.

Desire is a light sleeper
that stretches across miles
when awakened
follows primeval rhythm
of skin and soul
memory and anticipation
until two solitudes bridge over
and smoulder into unquenchable.

Camouflaged as spicy mangotini
that passed between their lips
it melted into a pool of thirst
on his warm tongue
her laughter was rousing
and he had an addictive personality

Her
Verses too fragile
For platitude of paper
Crave parchment of his broad chest
With kohl of her eyes
She spins yarns of solitude
Into pillow book of love

Him
Unraveling pages
Between old empty covers
Feels new dark ink drops
Painting fresh squeezed breath
On soft mounds of rising suns
By brush tip bidden

Her
They come in waves
Lay half forgotten by dawn
Dreams stuck in empty covers
Fodder for musing
Beads of rudraksh slip between
Fingers of her compulsion

Him
Dark seed tears uncurl
Insights prayed in circles wide
A thousand more fears vanquished
On new strings are strung
clear lanterns of fresh visions
Between opening lashes

Her
Golden bridge looms
From his eye to hers
Spilled drink from broken glass
Brings her heart on knees
Lit up in pieces
They burn for consummation

Him
Sharp edge of deep gazes
Connects strong silk threads
Fog in two ports stops sight short
Lighthouse lenses shine
Fire onto high waves
Guiding meld of warp and weft

Her
Whirling breathlessly
In blue light his verses weave
She unfurls her newfound wings
To embrace blue pearl
Serpent uncoils and rises
Gorging upon their undoing

Him
Tips of undreamed heights
Splash sheer sheens of undyed eyes
Through wide eyes embracing flame
Intertwining curves
Sing sinewed notes sweetened
Full by her lustered softness

Her
Unbounded stillness
Murmurs in unfathomable
Rolling labyrinth within
Tenacious roots grow
Around ruins of their reason
Amaurosis lighting way

Him
Throbbing beacon echoes
Around beams from distant doors
Squeezing fresh apexes
Now from old growth notes.
Deciphering encrypted.
Melodies of dormant juice

Her
Her verses rebound
Around desperate desert
Await familiar rustle
Of returning feet on the
Gravel of whimsical spring
To thaw frozen muse

Him
His soles hastening
Through mud and dust toward her
Bright welcoming smiles
So once again lips
can create a single song
from beats of two hearts.

– Nalini Priyadarshni & D. Russel Micnhimer

Wall of silence sits pretty between us
And we carry on,
Without a step out of line.
Noises we make
Are no conversations
They were the first casualty
Even before I lost sight of you.

You are probably glad
That I am on the other side
Out of sight and mind
And sigh with relief
When I do not reply
To your half hearted calls.
Such walls do not grow overnight
They are cultivated and nurtured
And I see the roots of this one
A mile long.

Are you still watering it?
I see the wall growing taller and thicker
Or it’s my tears that won’t stop
As I lean against it
And dream of floating over
To the other side
Where you are.

I mourn the loss of
What was never mine.
Draw pictures on sand with my toes
And let azure in my veins
Bleed into them
It seeps into my skin
Rises with each breath
And chokes.

Did the venom I spew, turn you blue too?

Murky waters of dying desires
And growing disenchantment
Make unsteady beds
I float on swirling discards
Listening to remembrances
Of unspoken, of unheard
Through shrunken (y)ears
Sip nectar from lotus stems
Cooling off my lips that
Singed when I kissed
White Naga with thousand heads

Molten gold of dreams drip through
Chequered green canopy
Dazzling play of radiance and gloom
Draw crazy patterns on my breast
Some sear into my being
Others just fade away
Like resonance of songs I sang
Or poems I whispered
Into ears awash with apathy

Swathed in silence my feet grow webs
I shake lest they grow roots too
I mean to traverse wastelands
Following whiff of musk
For rituals as old as mountains
Repeated over a thousand times
Each time more fervently
Until I get it right
But like celestial diamond ring
Ecstasy lasts but a moment
Even Gods can’t undo the past