#58 When it's love...

Lucky.

You know it's love when he makes that annoying slurpy noise when he's eating and all you can think of is how you could fall asleep to that sound. You know it's love when he yawns in your face, and you start laughing while trying not to pass out. You know it's love when you kiss him good night and his head smells like milk, and you close your eyes and savour the moment. You know it's love when he pulls things down and when someone scolds him, looks at you for support because he knows that you will always side with him. You know it's love when he comes running to you when he is scared of the thunder, and lets you hold him. You know it's love when he comes before everyone else for you, even yourself. And that's how I know.

I love the way his big brown eyes always seem to be in search of something to do; I love how he gets into trouble, pulls a puppy face and somehow gets away with it; I love running my fingers through his fur absentmindedly and the way his fur feels against my hand; I love how he annoys me with his barks and how I start missing it when he stops; I love that he listens to me sometimes which is still a lot more than he listens to anybody else. I love how he taught me that unconditional love is the best kind of love. It's been six years since he came home, and ever since he has been the string keeping me close to home even when I'm away.

It's a rare thing but sometimes you just know when it's love, and it's the most wonderful feeling ever.

#55 you.

I sit on the roof, watching
the vast expanse of a sky
glittered with stars, with
the breeze tickling my neck;
and for a while it's like
I'm lost in the moment,
with only one thing
on my mind even when
there seems to be none,
and it's you.
It's always you.
- shwethabhat /you/

#54 The strength in letting go.

Every time we went out into the woods, I would watch him lose sight of everything else and focus on the things that spoke to him. He would capture the most beautiful pictures, and he always had a reason behind each photograph he took.
When he told me I was ready, and asked me to take photographs of the things I found beautiful, I smiled. I picked up a fallen dandelion and took a picture. He laughed, and asked me what beauty I saw in a dead flower whose seeds were long blown away. Without looking up from the flower, I sighed. "How hard must it be for the flower to part with its seeds, and yet it does so every time. These dandelions taught me to let go of things when it's time, no matter how hard it seems. They taught me the solace you find after letting go; and that, to me, is beautiful."
- shwethabhat /let go/

#53 Survival.

He created a map of trails
with every one of his touches.
She left him poisoned with love,
and she was the only antidote.
They were like the sky and the sea;
every time they met, the world
watched, wild with excitement.
They were so right together,
it was almost too good to last.
But some stories do survive
against all odds, because love
seeks strength in hope;
and that they had in abundance.
- shwethabhat /Survival/

#51 It takes a while.

Don't chide yourself
for remembering him
quite too often as yet,
your heart needs its time
to unlearn how to love
him; to forget the way
he looked during sunsets,
or the way he locked eyes
with you and smiled.
But when you do get over
him, please don't let hatred
tarnish that heart of gold
that beats within you.
- shwethabhat /it takes a while/

Home.

Every time your eyes meet mine, I see the same question lurking behind its layers. 'Why me?' you have always wondered, but somehow you always manage to keep it within and look away. But I want you to know the truth. We don't choose whom we fall in love with, that's not how it works. You can't plan it, and you can't make the other person fall back in love with you. It just happens when it does. And to answer your question, my heart chooses you over everyone else because you feel new to me. After wandering through streets unknown, meeting you felt like magically being brought back home. And that is why, as we dance to the tune of our racing heartbeats tonight, I tell you again the one thing I keep telling you over and over, 'you feel like home'.

- shwethabhat • /home/

Let go, by Shwetha Bhat.

You have known a person for a long time but all of a sudden you start to see just the things that you adore them for, things they have no control over; like the way their eyes turn golden in the sunlight, or the way their smile is a little lopsided. And then it hits you, that you have been looking for this very person. That you belong to one another, and to a world where things are much simpler and love is not judged, but is allowed to breathe freely and survive. And in a moment of weakness you will want to bare out your soul in front of that person, hoping they will know exactly what you feel. But you will sidestep, because you know better. You know how the world is, and how it has corrupted people's hearts. You know how next to impossible it is to find another one like yours, a heart that has survived through the bitterness. You know the odds pretty well. So you tell yourself to give up before you give in. And again, you unclench your hand and let go.
                   ©SHWETHA BHAT | Let go.