Chasing shadows

You run past the meadows

Chasing something, a shadow, a glimpse

Of the memories of the past

A song plays on the radio and you hit call on your phone

All it took was one musical note to break your no contact zone

You remember the past and a bitter after taste lingers in your mouth

But your mind only focuses on the love before it went south

You remember the sound of their feet on the wood

Spending more time cuddled up than you should

You remember the first breakfast together

You remember the first kiss in terrible weather

You remember the tears in their eyes as they drove away

You remember all the nights you prayed

So you chase the shadows of these memories

But they were long gone

The house was silent long before you left it

The kitchen hadn’t felt warmth, neither had you

And the eyes at the airport were wet only for you.

But you go on chasing shadows of a past

That ceased to exist, of a love that wasn’t meant to last.

So you chase shadows because you loved a little too hard

So you chase shadows even when there was no love, even in the past.

(C) Sneha Pathak

Faking it

A busy nighttime street

And a quiet high rise apartment

A cup of tea and a book

Intrumental music in the background

Some fairy lights

The ambiance is just right

So you let the music and the words drown out

Drown out the voices in your heart

You let them suffocate the painful past

You go out and you smile

Carrying a secret, all this while

You talk about the past as if its a long-gone chapter

Hoping they believe you, not knowing the extent of the disaster

So you put on a show and shine for the world

Deep down, your heart only mutters the same words

So go on faking my dear,

Until one day, it doesn’t hurt as much

For the world is filled

With love, heartbreak, betrayals and such.

© Sneha P Rights Reserved

Looking for a piece of me

You look at strangers searching for a piece of you
To find any sense of home in this place that is so new
But did home ever feel like home?
Did the people back home feel like your own?
Or have you always felt like a boat searching for a shore
Trying to row hard, but without any oars
The city changes, the scene changes, the people change
But a piece of your heart feels amiss, isn’t that so strange?
You search for something that feels like a blanket
On a cold winter night
You search for something that feels like a hot cup of tea
In a world where even a conversation comes for a fee
You search for something that feels like a rock
Like the comfort of finding that missing pair of sock
You search for a person who speaks your tongue in a foreign land
But does it ever feel like you are looking for penny’s in sand?
So you look at strangers trying to find meaning in their eyes
You search for the truth in a land of lies.

Little Moments, Lots to Say

John Keats said,
A thing of beauty is a joy forever
This quote develops more meaning
As I grow older
The other day for instance,
I walked by the pier around evening
The gentle laps of emerald blue water
And the last remaining rays of sunshine
Illuminated the brick path and this dark mind of mine.
I marveled at the beauty of the city lights
The vast ocean, the tall towers and the sailing ships
But what caught my eye, was human relationships.
I see a little baby giggle with laughter as the father pokes the feet of his daughter
I see the wrinkled smile of an old woman as she snaps a quick picture of her husband looking at the water
I see two new lovers,
The girl who is dressed in a red flowery dress, turns a deeper shade of red
As the guy mutters sweet nothings near her ears
I see a guy talking on headphones, smiling from ear to ear
Another woman reading a book on the grass,
Reminiscing about a time in the past
The harbor is beautiful but there’s something prettier nearby,
Memories, love, intimacy and beauty
Of humans, and their untold stories
Of little moments of joy, nostalgia, romance and even monotony
Coloring human existence with shades of delight and agony
The sunsets today but the stories don’t go to bed
Pushing on wards like sailing ships
Like Fitzgerald says,
Like boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past
Not knowing how long this moment will last.

Angel

They say the brightest morning

Come after the longest nights

I was engulfed in darkness

Until you stepped in with your shining light.

A sole candle, enough to keep the darkness at bay

My heart belonged to you, I didn’t even have a say.

You taught me what love is, pure, kind and compassionate

You taught me, you can be calm in arguments and in heart, passionate.

laughter fills our room,

As we have date nights under the moon

You became my biggest supporter and cheerleader

You were the one pushing me to climb the ladder

Even in anger you don’t lose your mind

Your words towards me are always so kind

When life had bought me on my knee

You came and pulled me up, I knew it was meant to be.

(C) Sneha P

The end of a love story

Slowly, one day, I look out the window

And everything has changed.

I look back at the story I was reading,

It is coming to an end

I look back with nostalgia,

marveling at the twists and bends.

A love story turned into a horror novel

One where you take your heart and bury it with a shovel

The hero lost his way and fell into a hole

One where dark clouds rolled in as he drank the cursed potions,

and soon he assumed the villain’s role.

He joined forces with an evil solider,

His life began to roll downhill like a boulder.

He left the princess to wait in the tower forever

Betrayed, she escaped, promising to return never.

His darkness had begun to dim her shine as well

She looked back and marveled at the day in love they fell.

A time, long ago, when things were different when stories were unwritten

When smiles were shy, conversations were long and the heart was warm

Little did she know, even then, for her, he was always wrong.

Vain, narcissistic, cruel and inhuman

he was always the kind of person

who would forget old ties and chase new ones.

She tried and tried to save him from his doom

But all he did, was delve deeper into this realm of gloom.

So the story ended on a note of heartbreak, ache, and pain

What can I say,

Sometimes love is lost in vain.

© Sneha P Copyright 2022

Seasons and Life

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring

Spring sets in, the colors so magnificent

Hope blooms, as do smiles

Summer, hot, time for outdoor adventure, beaches and sun

Time to go for vacations and get some fun.

Fall, everything is crisp and orange and auburn

Something about hot cups of tea and pumpkins makes everything seem lovely

Winter, cold, dreary, heavy under the weight of the winter gear

Will this ever be over, in sets the fear

---

He wakes up to a brand new day

A morning, beautiful, flowery, and filled with the promise of the day

Smiling, cheerful, happy faces all around – a day to be spent in folly

Slowly evening sets in, the city lights shine bright and everything is charming

Night sets in, alone in his apartment, no one to talk to, no one to share his burden

Will this ever be over, in sets the fear

A poem inspired by the title of the movie Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring, talking about mental health

A list of Joys

A thing of beauty is joy forever

A sunflower on the porch of a house

A cup of warm tea when the rain falls

A good book when you have an evening to yourself

A hug from your loved one

A batch of fresh-baked cookies

An unexpected handwritten note/ card

An out of the blue compliment

A walk in the sun

An old favt song playing on the radio

A cup of warm soup on a cold winter evening

A good laugh with a friend

A little bit of hope and a little bit of love

© Sneha Pathak Copyright 2022

This reminds me of the following song – I got a pocketful of sunshine

One day

One day,

will turn to smiles

One day

the destination wont be away a million miles

One day

the person next to you wont break your heart

One day

you wont have to go back to the start

One day

loneliness won’t curse your nights

One day

the future will suddenly seem bright.

One day

you wont go to bed praying to be treated right

One day

love won’t feel like a losing fight.

Moments in Time

A song plays on the radio

Your mind is carried away to another time

One where you longed

for all the things you now call “mine”

A song plays on the radio

You remember the first time you heard it with him

You remember feeling he was the one

He was gone, before the afternoon sun

A song plays on the radio

You remember when you said you couldn’t go on any longer,

You look at the mirror, you were never stronger.

A song plays on the radio

You begin to miss something, you can’t quite tell

This song was a rabbit hole down memory lane

it pulled you closer, and hard you fell.

© Sneha Pathak Copyright 2022

Reminds me of the song – “Kal yaad aayenge yeh pal” (We will remember these moments tomorrow”)

Whether we live or not, we
will remember tomorrow, these moments are
moments of love,
come, walk with me ,
think whether life is small , if we meet
tomorrow, then we will be happy