The Ordinary Side of Me

I cry easily

Unnecessarily at times

And eat ginger biscuits

Too many for my good

But that's not going to make you like me

Because that's not wild or whacky or wanton

So let me try and say something shocking

I've shoplifted.

I like crows

But I like owls better

And hate lukewarm tea

Not down my throat, no

But that's not going to make you like me

Because it's not clever or cool or catchy

So let me try and say something shocking

I've kissed a girl.

I am clueless

About money and maps and meditation

And I pretend to read some books

When actually, I haven't even heard of them

But that's not going to make you like me

Because it's not sassy or spunky or savvy

So let me say something shocking
I'm done.

Kerosene

One day you're surprising me

Next day, you're chastising me

And when I do something out of character

No doubt, you're analyzing me

Your faults are only human

And mine are close to umpteen

But you're the fuel to my fire

Baby, you're kerosene

There's a blowout in the making

And you know it's coming fast

It's going down and won't be pretty

And we can only hope to make it last

Our life will get all tangled

Like a dish of say, chowmein

But when you come close, much closer

Baby, I'm kerosene

So the moment is here to live out

Much like a glistening, polished knife

And whether you flick it or drag it

It'll leave a scar for life

And simply because you don't get it

And simply because it's not routine

It's still a bonfire in the making

And Baby, we're kerosene.

Simple, Normal Day

The chai is good, my maid has come

The sun is streaming, breakfast is done

I got up late, no deadlines to meet

I have no need to look pretty or neat

No one unexpected has come to the door

I've cooked dal and rice, it tastes as good as before

It's a simple normal day, I hope it stays that way

And this poem is ordinary, but that's okay.

The television is on, and love is in the air

My favourite show is serving predictable fare

My mind is wandering, and I love that it does

There's nowhere to go, so why make the fuss

My friends call, they're staying up late

But by going to bed, I've sealed my fate

It's a simple normal day, I hope it stays that way

And this poem is ordinary, but that's okay.

Then I close my eyes, and expect to sleep

But what I see, takes an astonishing leap

And normal becomes strange, and strange becomes crazy

And crazy gets crazier, my thoughts are a bit hazy

And my roller-coaster mind, it takes a long-haul flight

And simple normal days turn into not-so-simple nights

It's a simple normal day, I hoped it would stay that way

And this poem is ordinary, but nothing else is okay.

Today's not a Day like Everyday

I walk out into the morning

Do the skies seem a little bluer?

It can't have changed in a day, I mean

But can it be that today is truer?

Today's not a day like Everyday

Today's not like Everyday at all

Today's not a day like Everyday

Today, I don't feel all that small.

A crow looks beautiful on the wire

The traffic is dragging, but what's the hurry

And when I feel the sun skim upon my skin

It doesn't feel like this day is so ordinary.

Today's not a day like Everyday

Today feels a little inside-out

Today's not a day like Everyday

And I know tomorrow willl be filled with doubt.