For all seasons.

Did they just wash up on your life's shore?
Why do they help you with every chore?
You may not speak to them for days,
Yet when you need them they are there always.

When you felt alone and lost,
They would give advice free of cost.
When you achieved something great,
For their appreciation there was no wait.

With them you bunked school,
Of parents and teachers you made a fool.
The prospect of buying your first cigarette made you both drool,
Together you shattered every rule.

You would always struggle to reach the required attendance,
In college, together you exploited your new found independence.
The thrills when you rolled your first joint,
Of studying you never got the point.

You could have stayed in the same flat,
Where together your night was ruined by a rat.
He could be the one who lent you his bat,
She could be the one with whom you made your first plait.

With her you may have been stranded in a blizzard,
With him your heart may have failed due to a lizard.
With them you believed in witches and wizards,
Till today the music from your first concert is heard.

You were in cahoots to ring the neighbours bell,
If caught you would smile through hell.
When you were low and everything was feckless,
They were the only ones who could stop you being reckless.

They took the mickey out of you as you prepared for your date,
You thought they wanted you to fail at any rate.

With them you've had nights drunk,
With them you've shared a bed bunk.
With them you opened up about every worry,
Oh how you all rushed to have his mother's curry.

She lent you money when you had the need,
When cut your arm, he bandaged it with utmost speed.
Theirs were the best smiles,
For them you would run a thousand miles.

You've had your spats,
But eventually they were  brushed under the mat.
You hurl insults at each other in chuckles,
If someone else did you would use your knuckles.

Maybe college took you on different ways,
But you always meet up in life's maze.
Maybe you don't get enough time from work,
Maybe you almost forgot that cocky smirk,
But you cannot do without that jerk.

With them you've slept under the stars
Or sometimes even in your cars.
You have had adventures at many bars,
You emptied all the cookie jars.

When you lost a loved one they were there,
Helping you cope with losses you could not bear.
You know they are the ones for all seasons,
They are your best mates for a reason.

Paradoxical Perfection

She was like a breath of fresh air,

She was the only face at the fair.

The best thing about the wind was the way it swayed her hair,

Her smile turned her face into a picture free of any care.

Her Voice was an eloquent woodnote,

If only one could hear it on a letter she wrote.

She had a feisty disposition,

But would show affection in a beautiful rendition.

She was not one to hide her emotion,

Her embrace was more powerful than the strongest of potions.

Her eyes were serene like the hills,

With her you don’t need headache pills.

To see her in sorrow was the worst of horrors,

To change that you would spend all your dollars.

She would say nothing and would shut everyone out,

You could see her eyes though,

They would scream and shout

She was unstoppable at work and bowed to no man,

She was the leader of her clan.

She reached the top through hard work and grit,

To go along she had an abundance of wit.

No one could take her for weak,

She could overcome any challenge without the slightest of tweaks.

She didn’t bow to society’s norms,

If they tried to restrain her, she was the fiercest of storms.

Her positivity was an infection,

Helped her friends deal with any rejection.

Her past was the silhouette of her bright future,

Fear and courage were her paradoxical tutors.

She was like a free bird, no aviary could cage her,

If you glimpsed her fury you wouldn’t dare enrage her.

As a person she could be arcane,

She could be your best blessing or your worst bane.

Of eternal bliss she would seem a reflection,

Because she hid her grief in her emotional cross sections

She was lost but knew she was headed in the right direction,

Well, she was an imperfect perfection.

Who is she? Where is she? You may think,

Just look around, you’ll spot her before you blink. 

LOVE IN THE TIME OF PRACTICALITY

What is love in today’s world? Is it just infatuation? Do we just give up too easily or have childhood heartbreaks just made us believe that nothing is going to last forever or are we just too afraid to get hurt easily? I don’t mean any offence to anyone with the above questions because I understand the fact that these are real issues that people face and they are or can be tough to deal with.

  Too many people I see these days break up for reasons which they can easily work around. Yes of course it’s easy for me to say looking in from the outside and ofcourse they must have worked on it and only then decided to call it quits in most cases, but hear me out before you make your conclusions on my opinions.

 I have seen people break up because they both are moving to different cities and they know they can’t manage long distance relationships. They have never tried managing one in their life, yet they somehow know they cannot manage one. One of the reasons I feel couples do this is because they prefer ending on a good a note, and have happy last memories of the relationship, rather than stoop down to the clichéd notions of mistrust, frequenting each other with questions like who were you with? Where were you? And the like, and no matter what the other person replies you will never truly be satisfied with the answer even if you try and look like it. Then there is the distance and not seeing each other for the longest of times, some people, though I don’t think this is true for most (or maybe I am wrong), have even said that they fear that what if while they are away from each other something may happen with someone else and them. They give examples of college parties and getting drunk with different people and then things may go south. Even if it’s not that then they say it may just be the fact that someone else may be able to be there all the time or at least much more than the person you are dating and that can just lead to attraction or something of the kind. Given all these reasons, this argument does make sense to an extent but what I have to counter it also does make sense, at least to me.

Firstly everyone wants to end the relationship on a good note but then they want to stay friends also, or okay let’s not label it as a friendship, they want to stay in touch. Obviously they do, just because they decide to end a relationship with the use of a few words, the love, care, want and need they have for each other will not disappear into the ether, at least not immediately. That would be okay, but if you think the same usual problems won’t spring up then in most cases you will be proven wrong. You will still ask each other (probably not in a very open manner, rather you veil your questions, but you both know what’s going on) what’s going on and you will still not like that he has started chilling with someone else or vice versa. The love as I said is still there and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.  And if it really has to end this will end in a bad way only, not because it’s your fault or theirs, its because as long as it ends in a good way there is hope and where there is hope and also love, you will keep coming back for more and the cycle will keep on repeating till it breaks the bond and either the hope or the love or both go away, and isn’t not wanting to end it in a bad way the reason why you ended it in the first place.

Secondly, yes the distance and not seeing each other for a long time is a problem. It’s a big problem that you have to deal with if you choose to. On the bright side though it makes meeting each other all the more special and that is a big bonus. Maybe you won’t even have the usual bickering that couples do because both of you are overwhelmed with joy and love when you see each other. Having said that the experience of long distance relationship can be quite an emotional rollercoaster, but if you really do love each other why not enjoy the highs and lows together rather than alone.

The other reason why I see people breaking up is because one or both of them feel like there are far too many more important things that need their utmost attention right now and they can’t give enough time to each other and to the relationship as a whole. That could mean not meeting each other that often, not having the time to solve issues that you are facing, maybe not having time to do something special for the other person, etc. They may say that right now they need to focus on getting that job, I have also heard people say they are going through too much that they allegedly can’t avoid and have to deal with that they choose to avoid the relationship or put it on a break at least, some have said they need to sort out their grades and can’t avoid any distractions and many other reasons of the sort. They may feel that rather than put their relationship on palisades of distractions, it’s better to give it a quick painless death.  I feel in this situation the first question you need to ask yourself is if you still love the person? If you do not then tell them outright that what the case is. You may feel you are doing the right thing by not being so brutally honest, but I feel that you are going to cause them much more hurt and that too, over a prolonged period of time, by giving them hope where there isn’t any. Whenever you do get that job for example, they will be back trying to win you and will be befuddled why they can’ If however, you do love the person then be true to the bond you have with them rather than pushing it on the back burner. The truth of life is that there is always going to be something or the other which at that moment in your life will be the most important thing, and if we go by the above mentioned logic then you will never be able to commit to a relationship, as something will always demand your attention, the relationship to which you give so much and which gives even more to you will be a constant source of happiness, something/someone that always has your back and that is more than worth it for you to deal with.

Having said this, there are also times when people know that its over from their side or from both the sides and yet they try and make it work again and again but never seem to be able to do so. They both know that they are not meant for each other, that it won’t work out as they have tried enough times, that the love is just not there anymore and yet they continue trying no matter how badly it ends each time they never seem to let it go. Maybe it’s because of fear of the unknown. He or she has been there for me all this while, they are so heavily involved in everyday life and situations and have been for a very long time that you just can’t imagine life without them. If however you do know in your heart of hearts that there is no hope of reigniting the flame of working out the differences, if you have tried enough and each time had the same result with no improvement, then it’s time to walk away before the situation gets toxic. Take the good with you, the memories, the things you have learnt, etc. Leave all the bad behind and move on. That’s the only way you are going to be fair to the other person. More importantly it’s the only way you can be fair to yourself, and loving yourself and your own happiness is highly underrated in the 21^st century. If you are not happy yourself then how can you make/keep someone else happy? Food for thought.

Finally, the various reasons people give of why they are afraid to get into relationships. The main one here is ‘what if it does not work out?’  They are afraid of investing  their emotions, trust and love in someone and something which may not last forever and when and if it ends, they are fearful of being shattered. I however believe that in life getting hurt is inevitable whether or not you get into a relationship or not. Everyone is going to hurt you sometime or the other, not because they want to but because everyone is human and we all mistakes and our mistakes be it in any manner are going to hurt someone. We are not gods and we all have our imperfections, but if you do love someone then be with them no matter what, because the amount of hurt you could get from them is nothing when compared to the amount of happiness you could get from them, you may call it a risk, but it’s a calculated risk. Everyone is going to hurt you, you just have to find the ones worth taking the hit for.

 Further even if you break up, its fine. Its crushing at the time and it hurts like hell but life will go on and so will you. You would have had certain really happy moments and phases in the relationship which will make it all worth it you move on.  The people who are meant to be with you will come to you, just be bold enough to open your arms and not hold too tightly when you do embrace them. Everything happens for a reason, always remember that.

 The other common reason I hear is that they do not want to enter relationships due to their past. They have been hurt really bad in the past and that has taken away their trust and faith in relationships and people. But just because something did not work out in the past with someone doesn’t mean it won’t in the future with someone else. No matter how bad your past relationships were, what you should see is the fact that you would have learnt something from those relationships and mistakes you made in them to better deal with situations that arise in relationships and as such have a better chance of making thing work this time around. Don’t be impudent towards someone by comparing them to other people, respect each one for their individuality. You have to be positive and life will be a world full of opportunities, be pessimistic and it there will only be darkness.  Don’t let your past drag you down , make it a silhouette of a brighter future.

In conclusion, I just want to say that I don’t treat any of the above mentioned reasons lightly at all but the point I try to make here is that love triumphs every time if you want it to. Don’t decide on matters of love from your head, that’s where you will find logic, practicality and rationale. That’s not what love is about, instead decide on them from the heart, because that’s where instinct, feeling, courage and beauty is. That’s what love is, it’s not in your head but in your heart and your veins. Let your heart decide the destination and the mind will find you a way to walk on. Cheers!