Sakshi Hegde

Invisible words
All the words left unsaid
At the tip of my tongue
Piling up from behind
Then screeching to a halt
Never tumbling to the outside world
Best not to disturb this sacred universe

Words hung in an amorphous suspension
Colliding with the yearnings of the heart
Forcing tiny hills to appear on the wonderful wrapping paper of the gift that is me
Wrapped tightly
Topped with a bow
“Contents are fragile”
Etched onto the side

Joy in the Streets
I want to unearth joy from the ground
From dark alleys
And crevices where you don’t even know joy existed
I want to pull it from the people who are so much more than they believe
Sprinkle it around like fairy dust
And let every living creature gain a glimpse of that dazzling light that is joy
I want to capture it in the crunch of autumn leaves
And store it in a mason jar for a rainy day
I want to travel through time experiencing every great joy since humankind
To stand at the podium, hand over heart, adorned with a gold medal & watch the flag go up

The Universe Inside Me
I feel as if there’s a whole universe residing inside of me
Shooting stars flying left and right
The sun’s bright, brilliant energy coursing through every cell in my body
My mind racing faster than the speed of light
Preluding the death of star from a faraway galaxy
And if I close my eyes I’m everything and nothing at once
I’m a monarch butterfly on a warm summer’s day flying from flower to flower in search of the perfect poison
I’m redwood trees as old as time itself
I’m old brick buildings and mighty mountains and cherubic children
I swim through life morphing into every creature and creation
And as the sun’s rays reach down and connect with the burning ball of fire inside
I am entranced by this cosmic force
The two reach for one another like two long lost friends
And once their hands touch they are stronger than ever
Connected across a golden bridge
93 million miles means nothing when you are the universe
Other balls of fire beckon the sun, and she glides away
The bond is broken, but the love remains

Sunday Night

I danced with warm cup of milk in hand
Not a sound to be found
Melodies in my heart
My body yearned to move and contort
And so I let it

Nature’s Elixir

No matter how hard I try
No matter how much I wish
The things my heart desires always escape my reach
Its a mysterious love that’s alluded me
I’ve flirted with it many times briefly
Had it glorified in my mind as brightly as the stars
And as rich as chocolate
Yet each time I think this time is different
That I will drink from this elixir
A passionate poison
It vanishes before my eyes
And I’m left wishing for what could have been

Maybe that’s what I truly want out of life
A love that nourishes me like the nectar of fruit trees
Is as refreshing as a forgotten cerulean stream in the woods
The waters gleaming amidst the sunlight
I want a love that ignites every nerve in my body
Where my heart beats not with trepidation but a kind of excitement unbeknownst to me
And every touch, every color, every sound is a million times better than before

I want a love where I will always know that no matter what
I will never be alone
Never face the world or my thoughts by myself
To have a person to swim through life
Effortlessly gliding through each journey
Marveling at the little wonders before us

I am enough
But I want to be more than enough
I want to thrive
Not just survive
To feel free and fearless
And be one with the wind and the wallflowers
As the force of nature that I am
And that I’m meant to be

Phoenix
It’s right there
That burning ball of fire
The flame’s been lit
It’s all up to you now
Don’t be afraid to get your fingers burned
You’re so much stronger than you’ve ever thought
Channel that fire
Let it course through your body
And unleash that flame upon the world
Watch the Phoenix arise from the ashy abyss
Fly higher and stronger than you’ve ever been
Be that Phoenix

Breathe for a Moment

I yearn for a moment
A moment where I don’t feel guilty about taking a breath
And let the freewheels inside stop on a high, the music glide to a gentle stop, the sun gets dimmer, and the raindrops freeze in the air
And everything lies in a pause
The world hangs in suspension
A warped reality where nothing good nor bad occurs
And we all just catch our breath
And feel everything and nothing
And breathe
Just for a moment

Waiting for greatness
And I know I should be yearning and learning for something better
To be that shining star in an ocean of darkness
But each time I’m within fingertips reach of greatness
I stop myself
I wait
The words the thoughts the sounds get louder and louder
And so I
Wait
Soon greatness has already sauntered on by
Far from my reach
And all I can do is stare at it longingly