Tuesday, August 27, 2013

My Anti-Bucket List

Not bake the perfect chocolate cake
Not go bungee-jumping, para-gliding, ziplining across a forest
Have a career that gives me no sense of purpose or joy
Get to have our perfect kiss only once
Change who I am to suit the needs of those around me to the extent I don't recognize myself
Not make my parents proud of me
Do something that makes me lose my self-respect
Die without having done something crazy, impulsive and liberating (oh wait...think I've already done that!)
Not have a pet
Not travel the world
Not write a book
Not take up dancing again
Not have a cute, curly-haired baby girl
Not go on a trip, alone, at least once
Not have a weekend spent in bed, with him
Not get a surprise birthday party
Or the perfect, stupidly romantic date
Realize in the end that my life has been a long list of deadlines, appraisals, numbered leaves - nothing more
Get to 40/50/60 and then regret that I didn't have the courage to ask for what I had really wanted
Compromise on love - though I might be a tad late on this one...

Saturday, August 3, 2013

The Tempest

Thunderstorms, sleets of rain
Drenching us, driving into our eyes
Till all we can see is each other
And that's all we need to see

Flashes of lightning
Casting crazy shapes on the wall
And we watch our silhouettes
Our entwined fingers making shadow puppets

Rumbles in the distance
Drowning out our whispers
I'm not afraid, but I pretend to be
So that I can hold you closer

The curtains flutter, matching my erratic heartbeats
The water traces patterns on the sill
As I breathe in the smell of rain-soaked earth
And it mingles with senses that are filled with you

Wipe the fog from the windowpane
See the waterlogged streets below
I complain, but secretly it makes me happy
Now you're stuck inside, with me, a little longer

I need to steal a few more moments with you
To be able to hold your hand, snuggle - and just talk
To be able to do ordinary, everyday, but for us, impossible things
Just let it rain