Glasses

I put my glasses on, and suddenly
I am invisible to the world

Stuck to the wall or bent over the dustbin
Tiffin open or snuck through meetings-
I navigate the world unnoticed.

Yet, guards open the doors to me and wish me a good evening-
It is their duty.
Some colleagues look at my silhouette and laugh
A loud boisterous laugh that bursts my bubble
And sits with me in odd moments when I try to realise
My identity.

Moments of peace are rare.
Sometimes, as fleeting as a thought, as it comes and goes.
Home as a space is safe, secure-
But filled with tension that pushes and pulls.
I am invisible even without my glasses.

Years have gone by and I am no longer a child-
A fact I remind myself, and others too as they list out all my responsibilities
Again and again.
My inner child sits inside- safe, secure.

I give her a flower to put behind her ear,
Another to my teenage self.
Another for a self from 5 years back. 5 minutes back.

In a garden of fallen flowers,
Forgotten moments of peace- I smile.

Is this my identity?
Yes, I like to think so.

~insight07

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Copyright ©Devika Todi. All rights reserved.

Spent and Save

Opportunity cost of lost moments
Regrets, a strange hug left midway
What ifs and fantasies of a different me
Different world around me.

It is a market of wishes that crows feast on
Stealing fish from desperate sellers
Onlookers look with one eye
Another they turn a blind eye.

Today, I know so much
Intimate moments that were otherwise imagined have faces on
Smiles on. I make connections between my acquaintances and imagine what conversations they hold.
Social media is beautiful and my city is like a small town
Smaller still through mobile screens.

There is uncertainty about the future and
The shape of my heart. I always debated the shape of thoughts but
They grow without meaning or direction. Just chasing the golden sun
Even if they dry and fall.

My city is drying in this summer heat.
My thoughts are drying too.
There’s love in pockets like loose change.
Dangling. Waiting to be noticed.
Waiting to be spent.

We should save some too.
Only for ourselves, far away from this screen world.

~insight07

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Copyright ©Devika Todi. All rights reserved.

Isolation Isles


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In dark oceans under changing skies
Swimming, exist Isolation Isles
Not found on maps
Or through directions of compass
These lands float on unnamed waters.
Barren- white sand that has never seen the sun
Under the glow of stars that burn.
A ragged doll sits beside a rock
Button eyes, button mouth
Matted wollen hair.
A childhood lost in the consciousness of grown years
These oceans have no meaning to the outside world-
Caged in a mind, the waves roll
In dreams- young eyes see the button holes
Of a beloved doll friend on Isolation Isle
The gone years had been so kind.
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~insight07

•Read more in my book- Sun on my Hands!
Grab your copy now (USA only) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5763NWL

Copyright ©Devika Todi. All rights reserved.

Weary Travellers

My words are weary travelers
They come back to me
Each night, they trudge along the rivers of conversations
Back to their sleeping beds
Exhaustion pools in their eyes
They are unrequited, unwanted in this world
Discovery of moons and stars has done no good to them
They are still where they are.
Ripples of emotions run on their skin
They are pierced but held together
Handwritten letters lost to maps.
Lives that are not lives but translucent beings with meaning in them
Some meaning
They cannot just exist without any consciousness?
My fingers are at a loss, as I note this down
This runny thought down
Before I am lost to tasks that just don’t make sense
And people, who are faceless maskless personas
Floating in cyberspace.
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~insight07

Check out my new book- Sun On My Hands!
https://wp.me/p5gmIC-1a7

•
Copyright ©Devika Todi. All rights reserved.