THE FOLLOWING POEM WAS SELECTED IN WINGWORD POETRY PRIZE 2023 LONGLIST.
I am nothing but I am a bit of everything
I am not the product of delusion
But you can call me an illusion-
I am a prismatic reflection of someone's myriad fantasy.
I am not beautiful
But beauty itself is nowhere near to me.
I am omnipresent,
I am a mystery.
Enigmatic enough to arouse poetry.
I am your deepest latent desire,
I am the heat that lights every fire.
You can touch me yet you cant-
Perhaps you can catch a glimpse of me under the veil
You can love me,
You can hate me.
But indifferent is not something that you can remain.
Tomorrow before the twilight gives way to the dusk
Wait at the seashore until you can see me at the horizon.
Look at me with closed eyes
And you can feel my scarlet warm lips mingling with yours
With the same passion that is completely yours.