The Carousel

At the fair that cheered the best monsoon of their lives
She gleamed at the sight of that carousel
The carousel of merry 
The carousel of enigma
The carousel that fanned the wind of their union 

The gleaming eyes peered at him 
Taking him by the arm 
Together they hopped on 
On the carousel where hope rode 
The carousel that shone like the moon playing behind the monsoon clouds

The carousel then swirled in a motion that induced 
An ecstasy so magical that the floating air danced above
The world around spun into a haze
And all they could see was themselves in each other's eyes

But the spinning carousel has to stop 
Surreality doesn't hold forever
And so the melancholy of conclusion arrives
The world comes into vision again 
The carousel begins to bring itself to a halt

The gleaming eyes have now turned dark
They look into his eyes again to find a path that can lead them ahead 
Disappointed, she closes her eyes with a spinning head 
Resting her head on his shoulder, he leads her down

She wakes up from her stupor with swollen eyes 
To watch his descending footprints that the rains have begun to disguise 
The carousel is now silent 
Their now is now gone.

–Divya Rathi

With Life or Without

Trees bend down from their alley
The dry rain pours
Green mountains fade to grey
As I flinch at the sight of time running ahead of me
Moving along the road wishing I could stop
Chase the moments racing away
And forever hold on to my fistful sands of time.

But all I hold on to is a consciousness clogged with memories of the past 
Memories, that are boulders on the road to the future
Memories, that drain out the rivers of the present
I try to escape the blades
And let my hair down to the shady clouds of reality.

But they say that to live is to stand to, for and by the truth,
So tell me, 
Is it worth the fight
To wall the tides of time
For those who slaughter your souls 
When you present to them a part of yourselves
For those in whose self consummation 
You find your selflessness
Would've still grabbed them by the arm without doubt 
Only if they knew if I was with life or without.

– Divya Rathi