A longing for things that can never be

Longings churn like lazy broth

Bubbling from the depths of my soul

Rising upwards like billowed smoke.

Unable to contain themselves any longer

Tears swell and fall

Make their way down.

At least they know where to go

Unlike me

For I am utterly lost without you.

If a tear drop could speak, this is what it would say

I yearn for a glimpse of you

It would keep me going a long way

I yearn to hear the sound of your laughter

It would give me strength to face another day

I yearn to feel the warmth of your hand in mine.

It would make me believe that nothing else mattered.

I seek out substitutes,

Looking for you in others

Hoping they will take away

A part of the longing, or at least a part of the pain

But none match up to you.

Why did you have to be so perfect?

And why can’t some things ever be?

Why is finality all binding like death?

I know you cannot answer me for you are helpless too

Despite your irrefutable love for me

Or perhaps because of it.

And so, the broth brews

Billowed smoke continues rising

The tears continue falling as an outlet for longing.

A longing for things

That can never be.

© Preeti Shenoy
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