Breathe a little, Live a little, Yearn a little, Burn a little
Alka
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My hair, my hair, my dratted exasperating hair
My name, I’m told, means long hair, and I was so named because I was born with a full head of dark hair. It’s a cute story but knowing my parents, I seriously doubt they waited till I crowned and at that moment had that simultaneous thought. But it’s short name, most people can pronounce…
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Crossing Over Iwo Jima
After the hugging and crying were mostly done and just before I had to board, my father had approached me with the familiar long suffering look of patience, mixed in with a heavy dose of dubious hesitation. “Alka, this is your passport. Keep it safely, and hand it to U when you get there, immediately!”…
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A white picket fence
Yes, I wanted a white picket fenceBeside a pretty little garden so sweetWith honeysuckle and rosemary and jasmine bloomsA darling little cottage full of dreams.I’d read about them in books I foundWith tales of castles, dragons and geniesI wanted those too, just as muchFabulous hidden treasures and enticing distant journeys.I didn’t know what it took…
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Worlds beyond
Bits and bytes, quarks and bosons,Silverfish and black rhododendrons,Just last night I saw monarch butterfliesFragile flutter over thousands of miles.And I wonder if this world has so many miracles to seeImagine what the worlds beyond will be? Crystal sharp air that hurts as you breatheChance met friend who changes how you feelA child who once…
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A Breath
In a mere breath, a moment, a blink of timeYou reduced grand love, passion and truthTo a shuffling of paper, bricks and mortar,Sweaty palms, deceptive lies, and moral character.As though eternity could be chopped up into tiny bitsAnd measured by a clock, silently tick tock.Or a tap seek to control the flow of an oceanOr…
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Poem: Picket Fence Dreams
Yes, I wanted a white picket fenceBeside a pretty little garden so sweetWith honeysuckle and rosemary and jasmine bloomsA darling little cottage full of dreams.I’d read about them in books I foundWith tales of castles, dragons and geniesI wanted those too, just as muchFabulous hidden treasures and enticing distant journeys.I didn’t know what it took…
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How long ago was it?
The daughter of a friend turned eighteen recently. Well, quite a few kids had their birthdays, and graduations and announced where they were going to college so it has been pretty cool for the last couple of months. A couple even graduated college which is pretty mind blowing. But this eighteenth birthday one is special.…
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A Jug of Wine and Thou
I’m a city girl, having grown up in Delhi, an Armed Forces brat, and I appreciated nature in manicured lawns edged by kyaris of huge dahlias, gladioli, roses and the occasional bougainvillea. In childhood I had enjoyed mucking around in the mud, I was inordinately fond of climbing trees, and creating elaborate canal systems in…
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Musings: Costco
Once in a very great while, I find myself compelled to go to Costco. Most of even those times, with diligent concentration and a can do attitude, I persevere and find a way to avoid the experience.
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Costco
Once in a very great while, I find myself compelled to go to Costco. Most of even those times, with diligent concentration and a can do attitude, I persevere and find a way to avoid the experience. However, there are those rare occasions when the tides swell, the planets line up, the wolves howl with…
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In me the river flows is set of poems that describe the complex layers of betrayal and grief to resolute determination, with calm pools of compassion through it.
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