Perpetuance
Hey Everyone! Hope y’all are doing great. I have been meaning to make a proper return to writing from a very, very long hiatus (all the way back from 2021, to be precise). I kept trying to write short poems from time to time but none of them materialized completely into a story of this level. It would seem like a joke when I introduce myself as someone with a passion for writing and yet my work of any significance would be one which dated back to a couple of years. So, this is more of a leap of faith than it is a tale in verse.
When all hope feels lost, it is the magic of everlasting love that heals your wounds and makes you feel as though you never really lost anything in the first place. This is an ode to that sense of happiness that tugs at you, the intriguing sense of pure joy that makes you move mountains. While the length of the poem might feel a bit stretched out, I promise you it will be totally worth the read. Enjoy!!
Chancing upon you on a lazy summer afternoon
Warm rays peeking from beneath the lush canopy
Distracted by pearls of laughter in between tunes
From the orderly procession, a sense of entropy
I march forward flustered, wanting to break free
Too stunned to move yet not one to break the ranks
Wishing to end this exercise of a rambling degree
Rush to grace the wondrous presence who’d my heart yank
Minutes stretch past painfully by, strain building over
I muse under my breath, oh how did I let myself slide
What was it that made me lose my composure?
Never was I one before to ever not abide
Time rolls by as lazy as it ever could be rolling
Garner thoughts from the workshop down under
Make me question the fabric of reality sprawling
Finally to break free by the Marshall’s thunder
My obligation complete, I sprint past the blocks
Those years of drills coursing me to fruition
I pant between breaths as our eyes finally lock
Strolling towards you with a swagger yet in caution
Life all around me stalling in muted animation
An absolute sense of languorous limitations
Composure felt missing, an off-charted sensation
Losing my grip from the zenith of mine own volition
The perpetuance of this moment keeps gushing
As I come closer to your beholding sight
Memories of days past through my mind, rushing
Of mellow love and the subsequent feeling of spite
My stream of thoughts interrupted all of a sudden
A passing carriage and a sudden onset of movement
Anxious of our meeting by intervention, forbidden
To that very same institution to hold mine lament
Hither and yonder I search again in vain
Losing you yet again, fate dealing yet again
Perhaps but a shadow from my past, a stain
Gloom gnawing at my innards in utter pain
Eyes well up, face flushing to a bloodied red
I collapse within like a house made of straws
The path I stand in that once I swore to not tread
I return to my cohort but give a melancholy pause
“Won’t budge to even greet an old friend will we?”
There she stood, the summer rays gleaming
Past those petite shoulders, my heart breaks free
Yet mum as a cold rock, words leave me failing
There remained a silence, one able to part the seas
Years of fleeting happiness, of angst and regret
Her little pearls of laughter finally bringing me peace
I chime in, as I looked back to the day we first met
Little kids running across the neighborhood
Chasing dainty butterflies, swimming in the streams
Of palaces, of nice cars, of all things oh so good!
We envisioned the future, our future of big dreams
Underneath the yard’s trees we’d lay and talk
Hours together swiftly rolling by
Tick Tock! chimed the big ol’ clock
Merry children into young adults at a blink of an eye
Plying the tightrope across boundless aspirations
Of the loved ones around, and ones of our very own
One grand life to live out under no reservations
Infinite limits, to take in all that man had ever known
Burdened by heightened obligations all about us
Life’s new chapter beckoned to newer paths
Never before trod upon, our journeys ahead thus
Sense a mild divergence, glimpse into the aftermath
Days turned to months as the year almost came to an end
Passing by at breakneck speeds, I could not comprehend
Day of the school ball in hopes with you to spend
Sweating in apprehension in how to ask you, my friend
A mild chance of hope emerged as I approached with a swagger
From childhood friend to forever sweetheart
Newfound confidence no longer seemed to be a wager
Muse of a long beautiful life that now felt thwart
Heart that fell apart at the very instant of the dreadful sight
Your acceptance to the ball tugging at me in spite
Oh how I ran at the mere scene of you hand in hand with yet another
From you, this town and this life till my limbs couldn’t any farther
Years skim through as I take the path of the nation’s defense
Serving my country with pride as well as I hid my pain
Through the battlefield, across jungles dense
A decorated officer with much pomp and no gain
She gently strokes my face with an aching look
Longing that far preceded the years that passed
Fate’s play ever so cruel, twisting the very path took
Simplest case of mistook identities for this separation caused
She played cupid yet lost out on her own love
The irony that is life, one simply can’t profess
Wept as I recollected all that to my actions drove
“Oh how I kept waiting for you” she’d confess
Hands intertwined, our breaths one in sweet harmony
I now ask what for long was my cause of melancholy
Take my hand and dance through this night’s symphony
Chance at redemption, penance to wipe away my folly
Sweetest nectar this instant is, halts to a standstill
My will no longer held prisoner within mine own dwam
Midsummer’s daydream broken, free of the spell
Sharpest bellow of the chief bringing in the storm
I break from the ranks and run past the assembled lines
Echoes of his guttural voice resounding far behind
Was it rain or tears for the woman my heart pines?
Running past the boulevard, of staring faces I do not mind
Perhaps now the woman in someone else’s life
Perhaps not, ever constant ever holding fast
Her own words to decide, until then none to suffice
Wishing to never repeat the blunder in my past
Chest feels heavy and my wheezy breathing not helping much
Vision blurs in and out as I become a spectacular mess
Yonder she is, about to board a cab, about to go out of touch
I scream as I tear through the asphalt, visceral tone of distress
Too far to hear and extremely hurt to care perhaps
Her carriage starts rolling, picking up pace over my strides
With the semblance of what power chose to stay back
Call her name one last time and collapse, running out of tides
Face stinging from the direct impact felt
Even cruciating from the pain far within
Lost focus and gave in to the defeat dealt
Claw out of Tartarus’ gates, this nightmare herein
Sentience returns after what feels like an eternity
Open my eyes to the most ravishing spectacle
Under the rays of the setting sun, a feeling of consanguinity
My head on her lap, her hands brushing away the speckles
Her smile mixed with the melancholy of desires broken
A tight embrace enough for my afflictions to end
The perpetuance of this instant I desire to remain frozen
“Care to go with me for the dance, my dear old friend?”
If you’ve come this far, thank you for reading through this poem fully. I really hope you liked it. If you’re interested in reading more of my content, give this page a follow and I will make sure to come up with more poems soon. Meanwhile, check out my other poem Curse of Atlas if you haven’t already. Cheers!
Images Credits:
Photo by Vlad Alexandru Popa from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-across-on-intersection-1486222/
Photo by Gabriel Bastelli from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/silhouette-photography-of-man-and-woman-1759823/
Photo by RDNE Stock project from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/kids-sitting-back-to-back-on-a-swing-8083455/
Other images sampled from Google Images
