But that was not the last of it.

There was light,

Laughter… and pain.

And that was

The last of it.

There were no cries

No pain.

Yet the floor was

Red, as though

Painted with

Dismember limbs

And broken seams.

Unattended dreams,

Of you and me.

There was light,

Laughter… and pain

And that was

Not the last of it.

There were cries and

Broken sighs.

The blood seeping

Out, as fast as

The breaths

That were dying out.

There were shrieks,

And yet silence

From you.

-Momina Latif.

Indulgence

An assortment of bottles,

A pot of well brewed Chai.

Long stemmed glasses,

And a dainty little tea cup.

Filled to their brims,

And then refilled, again.

They sipped at their addictions

And he drank in her sight.

-Momina.

As I stand on your doorstep, tattered and bruised.

I stand on your door step,
Tattered and bruised.
You get one glimpse
And hold me close.
You shoulder digging into
My collarbone;
So painfully comforting
Of your presence once more.
I won't let go,
I hold on tight.
I sit before you
With tales not scarce.
Words are to be summoned
For a sermon too long.
You wait patiently
As I stare straight ahead.
My eyes water,
But words don't abide.
But I won't let go,
So I hold on tight.
They roll of my tongue
Syllables and sounds.
Incoherent and imprecise
To sum up my wounds.
I narrate to you,
The struggle that begins
Each day as the world shifts
Slightly around.
From a single view,
So safe and sound
But the war I fight
Just doesn't subside.
I don't let go,
And I hold on tight
As I narrate to you,
Stories I found.
The tears come,
Between restless sighs.
You reach over and whisper
'Don't let go,
Hold on tight.'

-Momina.

Seeping To A Stop, At My Fingertips...

There is a creek in my blood stream,

Where the ink flows and my words float.

They rush through my body, melded with the blood

Drop by drop, intoxicating my being.

As my body hums, as it goes numb.

With blood it gushes through the empty vessels,

Containing them, fulfilling.

It turns back from the edge of my lips,

Seeping to a stop, at my fingertips.

From there it flows out, pouring on the paper

Draining from my body, the infinite supply.

The ink blemishes, never running out

Spilling onto the white,

Marring the pure blankness.

-Momina.

Obscured

And I waited till the questions evolved into answers, 

Question marks straightened into exclamations. 

Encrypted were the messages

Lost were the hints,

Scribbled and hidden scraps, paper thin.

Dipped in symbols,

To form, incoherent answers.

Master of such creations

Losing while deciphering.

-Momina.

Slipping Away

Little by little as all subsides, I hold onto the familiar space, 

Walking on a similar pace, Letting everything go. 

Little by little.

Second by second it slips away, blurring into an abyss, 

So dark it becomes, unknown to eyes, disappearing into a void. 

Second by second. 

Page by page, as the memories flood, meaningless, 

Don’t they become? Fading are the words that adorned the sheets. 

Page by page. 

Color by color, they wash away, losing charm as they become, 
Nothing other than hidden grays. Pale and dreary, as if they decay. 

Color by color. 

Skin by skin, bone by bone, the muscles chew off as nothing I form. 

A carcass of naught that now rests, only in deeds, only in minds. 

Thought by thought. 

-Momina.

Impassive

As invisible as a thought,

As silent as a dream. 

As open as a secret;

Screaming out to be released.

Confined to four walls,

Yet, content and serene.

Impassive to the world,

The loneliness, unseen.

Isolated among friends,

But with stranger naive.

Expose to Familiarities,

Triggers fires, obstinate.

-Momina.

To Everyone, Their Own.

For all it was a curse, an unattainable destiny.

But then, maybe it was a blessing,

Bestowed on only a few.

For me it was joy, a reason to smile.

But then, for the rest it was just the sky,

Crying it all out.

For some it was a path straighter than any,

But then, there were bends further ahead,

When our road was clear.

For most it was claustrophobic and confined,

But then, for them it was different;

Where they were alive.

For us it was melancholy, sorrow and sadness.

But then for some, it was only then,

That they smiled.

-Momina.

Tyranny Of The Soul

Cluttered mess,

Chaos surrounds.

Thoughtless minds,

Details profound.

Tyranny of the soul

That haunts for solace;

A world of peace

That resides with in.

Lurking around,

But never too close

Submerging into shadows

Snug and deliberate,

Waiting until 

Doubts fade.

-Momina.

One Step Ahead

Limelight, flickering
Right above yourself.
It's time you step ahead
Play your own part
There's a crowd, awaiting
Your arrival, with applause.
What's to lose?
When you could be shining,
Standing tall, for one and all.
There's been dents and dashes
In your ancient path,
But still you are here;
Nobody to break you apart.
There's glitter in the air,
Your destiny up ahead
Beckoning you out
Away from the scars of the past.

Happy Women's Day!
-Momina.

Sabotage and Assassinate

Wisps of hope peel away
Opening up the insides, frayed.
Touched with time and unwanted change
Browned and worn out ashen face
Screaming out, yearning to surrogate
Limp hands for attention, wave.
"Don't look away, don't look away,
Fold yourself into the details,
Realize the mistakes that you made.
Whispered secrets, riddles and slay
There are the answers, you didn't appraise".

-Momina.

Over and Over, again

Wrapped in the veil of unwanted sympathy,
Wallowing in wisps of heartfelt misery.
Ribbons of reasons fading away,
Streaks of options turning grey.
Sneaking in and out for clues,
Dipping in disappointment, afresh
Acclaiming expectation that gnaw on insides.
Beaten down by confronting tries.

-Momina.

Enchantments

Let’s weave magic through our words,

Conjure up some delightful verse.

Set it up in beautiful terms

Make it shine, like a perfect one.

Enchanting to anyone who reads,

Meanings, not just two or three.

Alluring and dripping appeal

 Charming in it’s own feel.          

Spin your words like this and that,

Making it exquisiteness to last (always).

-Momina

Standing tall

Raise all the bridges

There’s no way we’re going down

Let the water play,

It’s bound to splash around

We’ll stand tall together,

Nothing will hurt us now.

We might lose our lives,

But our spirits shall never drown

-Momina.

Tread it Together!

When there’s not much to say,

And too much has been heard.

Regrets pile up along with each step

The road seems all desolate and dust.

Look for the tiny green sprouting up,

Around you among the dried up crust

Wonder, how in the deserts they mature?

When all tread it together you see,

It’s about time the earth goes soft and subtle

That’s where you are right now, child,

Helping in smoothing land for tomorrow. 

Momina.

Guest Post

For Bliss Thy Run?

Black and blue, vivid streaks.

A flush of white and grey black skies.

Loath for change and love for betrayal,

A single step forward or the alluring past?

Good-bye soul, drowned you were.

When? They question.

Like knives against hearts.

A melting pleasure for revenge

Called applause!

They say-for bliss thy run,

The run for emotions?

Or the pace against time?

You speak no good, 

Disgrace, we face!
Endowment or penalty,

A question was raised.

Rabia Latif is an A Level students, who excels at cooking and baking. She enjoys reading, writing and crafting abstract poems. She also enjoys putting her skills to stalking and photography, both  professional at heart.

Let's try, again.

Stop! Let’s wait!

There’s more to be heard

And lot’s more to say!

Stop; just give me a chance,

I believe we can try, again.

Let’s dive into the past,

Let’s, lose all that wrecked.

You know we don’t need all that.

We’ll smile once more

We can face the world, again.

Stop, don’t cry.

I know it’s hard

But this shouldn't wait!

I won’t let us die down

Without any tries.

We’ll just have to fight

Out of the inanity, our way.

-Momina.

Lost and gone.

Like a silhouette,

In candle light.

He stood out

But never shined.

Ducking his head,

With shame, remorse.

An evil smirk

Spreading across

The face paled.

The blood flowed

Seeping through

The murky snow.

One last time,

The eyes close.

A single tear

Of regret and loss.

A chilly wind,

And he’s gone.

-Momina.

lie,lie, truth.

They hide under those hazy clouds,

Behind the wisps of evident lies.

They try to prove futile points,

Backed against the wall of truth.

And then they fight their own kind,

Basking in their own deceit.

-Momina.

Looming Question Marks.

What if we were never borne? What if we had died ages past?

What if there was no tomorrow? Yesterday was history and we had regrets and qualms?

What would happen if we lost everyone? If there were no strangers but wars predicted?

What if we never got a chance and everything was as easy as we desired?

Would there still be faith to hold on? Would we still have questions to ask?

When would we realize then? When would we try then?

Will we still think like we do, now? Will we still use our minds then?

If world was as easy as we want it to be, wouldn’t we just be blind arrogant fools then?

Momina.