In a sudden, fleeting thought’s embrace,
She realized dry eyes graced her face,
For ages, it seemed, she hadn’t shed,
A tear that once her cheeks had bled.

Almost instantly,
her eyes welled up with tears — 
Were they droplets of joy,
or borne from some deeper fear?

Perhaps they were of joy,
a sign she had moved on,
no longer pining for the one
she used to dwell upon.

Or were they tears of guilt,
or maybe tears of pain,
for letting go of someone
she loved with passion untamed?

The thoughts that come with reminiscence,
once eagerly embraced,
now seem to visit less and less —
has she truly found her pace?

Or was it the absence of tears she missed,
the strange comfort found in her own sorrow?
In that moment, did she relish the pain,
a bittersweet gift to borrow?

ARTWORK

Hello everyone. A couple of weeks back we’d started this amazing new challenge for our Medium writers. Part-4 of the challenge has been overwhelmingly received and we’ve got so many exceptional pieces to read through. With a lot of enthusiasm, we present before you, the Part-5 of the challenge. A brand new illustrator joins us with a brand new artwork. The rules remain the same but mentioning it all over again for all.

Please welcome the illustrator for Part-5, Tej.

Challenge Name:- When Words and Painting combine- Part 5
What you need to do:- Take a look at the above painting, look deeply. What does it try to convey. Feel it. And put your pen to paper. Express it. Share it with us. We’re waiting to read your words about what this gorgeous painting made you scribble. Be it poetry, fiction, non-fiction. Feel free to share with us anything that the painting has made you feel.
Mandatory tags:- Literary Impulse, LI-Wwapc
Mandatory:- Please use this image in your post and provide credit to the Illustrator, Tej. You can use another image of your choice, if you want.
Mandatory:- Please do drop a link to this post at the end so that anyone else can read and submit, if interested.
Non-mandatory:- Please do tag any three or more of your favourite writer friends on Medium so as to keep the challenge moving forward.
Timelines:- 2 Weeks from April 9. And after that, a new illustration from another excellent illustrator. Keep checking.

You can submit any number of pieces you want.

There’ll be a new section on our homepage to show the work of the amazing writers on this.

We’re already waiting to see what wonders the amazing Medium community conjures out of it all. Excited to the fullest!!

Please stay safe and take care.

Now that the rules are clear, please find below some words from the Illustrator herself.

FROM THE ARTIST, Tej :-

The girl in the picture, had me reminiscing, about the times gone by. When I captured the moments, not by taking pictures with my phone. Instead, I captured the moments through dance. I don’t recall the time when I stopped expressing myself through dance. Over the years, I have realized that dance was my refuge. Dance was my home. And I am ready to return home.

Let me be that girl in the picture
The free and wild creature
Let my hands sway the air
Nature love and sun glare
Let my feet barely touch the ground
Like a deer, sans sound
Let me breathe the spring in
Eyes on sky, lifting the chin
Let me feel the cotton cloud
Misty eyes, happiness abound
Heavens above, heath beneath
By the river in the flowing sheath.
Let me open the closed door
Let me be her, once more.

If you’d like to read all the exceptional entries we received from Part-1 to Part-4 of our challenge, you shall find them, here.

Medium Editors:- Priyanka Srivastava, Somsubhra Banerjee

Tagging a few of our regular contributors and well-wishers. This is not to spam your notifications. But just to let you know so that if you are interested, you can chip in with your fantastic wordplay. Please let us know in case you do not want to be tagged in the future and we’ll keep that in mind. Thanks!

Jonah Lightwhale/ Samantha Lazar/ William J Spirdione/ David Rudder/ Jessica Lee McMillan/ Upasana Sharma/ Joseph Lieungh/ Pablo Pereyra/ Lee Ameka/ Dr. Preeti Singh/ Paroma Sen/ Jack Herlocker /Jessica Lee McMillan/ James G Brennan/ Tree Langdon/ Jenine Bsharah Baines/ Deborah Barchi/ Pierre Trudel/ Shalini C/ Iva Hotko/ Dr. Jackie Greenwood/ Vinitha Dileep/ Erika Burkhalter/ Ruchi Thalwal/ R. Rangan PhD/ Chris Mooney-Singh/ Eli Snow/ Joe Barca/ Era Garg/ Aparna Das Sadhukhan/ Sylvia Wohlfarth/ Wolfie Bain/ Dr. Fatima Imam/ James G Brennan/ Saurabh/ Adam, Diabetic Cyborg/ Lubna Yusuf/ Ruchi Thalwal/ Venkataraman Mahalingam/ Iva Hotko/ Iulia Halatz/ Unni Nambiar/ Sylvia Wohlfarth/ Franco Amati/ Wolfie Bain/ Carolyn Hastings/ Frank Moone/ Erika Burkhalter/ Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar/ Era Garg/ Marcus/ Anne Chisom/ Setraj Jahan/ Mario López-Goicoechea/ Penofgold/ Viraji Ogodapola/ Venkataraman Mahalingam/ Frank Larkin/ Margie Willis/ CARMEN F MICSA/ Iulia Halatz/ Saurabh/ Stephen Chamberlin/ Souminibanerjee/ Tej/ Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar/ Lubna Yusuf/ John O’Neill/ Monika Sharma/ Erika Burkhalter/ Kimberly Hampton Nilsson/ Dennett/ Kevin E. Pittack Jr./ Viraji Ogodapola/ Sally A Mortemore/ Danielle Loewen/ Barry Dawson Jr. IV/ Setraj Jahan/ Dharan.M/ Harry Stefanakis

Apologies if we’ve missed anyone. Please feel free to join in. Also, do let us know if you want to write for LI by dropping a comment on this post.

Once More was originally published in Literary Impulse on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

मुड़ आए है एक मोड से हम
फिर भी पिछे रह गया रास्ता याद आता है

पलके नहीं थकी झपकने से कभी
हर बार झपकाने पर तेरा नूर याद आता है

अब तो बात करने के लिए शब्द खोजते है
सारी सारी रात बातो में खो जाना याद आता है

दिल पर चोट लगने की आदत हो गई है आज-कल
वो छोटी छोcटी बातों पर रो देना याद आता है

अब तो रूठे एक जमाना हो गया है
वो बात बात पर गुसा कर जाना याद आता है

अब तो हर शाम गमगीन सी लगती है
वो बेफिक्रे हो तेरे साथ घुमना याद आता है

कदम कदम पर संभलना पड़ा है जब
तो बिना रुके तेरे संग चलना याद आता है

आंसु भी अब तो रुक से गए है,
वो तेरे मनाने पर मस्कुरा देना याद आता है

मुस्कान तो अब भी आ जाती है होंठ पर
पर खिलखिला के तेरे संग हसना याद आता है

गुनगुना तो लेते हैं कई गीत अब भी
पर तेरे संग रचा संगीत याद आता है

अब नहीं है कभी मुमकिन दीदार तेरा
तो हर मौसम में फूल का मुरझाना याद आता है

संभलने की कोशिश करते करते बिखर जाते हैं हम
जब तेरा उमर भर साथ चलने का वादा याद आता है

पढ़ने के लिए धन्यवाद! :)

तेरे संग was originally published in Literary Impulse on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

When in rush…

Just started the work, already want this day to be done
Retire early, or the lottery needs to be won!

Snow is here.. You can’t wait for the winter to be over…
can time run any slower?

Life is good once summer is here...
oh, what a joy it will be everywhere!

And then, wait for a day that’s not too hot in the summer…
It is so hot… what a bummer!

Binge-watching a favorite series… perplexed,
Got to know what happens next!

Remember when Shakespeare said.. “this too shall pass”
Whatever you have is just now, it won’t last!

Life is here, life is now...
it is being ignored somehow…

The most displeased species on earth…
Convenience is abundant and stress has no dearth

It matters what you do with your time,
it’s precious and it’s not forever thine

Rushing through the present, for a better future...
oh! you can’t see it? It is unforeseen in nature

So, why this rush?
Listen to the clock ticking.. hush!

Every second of your life…
Is moving towards the final destination…
Do not rush the present moment,
For, we are walking non-stop to our grave .. our last station.

A small reminder that we have limited time in our hands before we become dust. Next time, leave for work early. So, you can enjoy that sunrise, that strange-looking fluffy cloud, or the new leaves on the trees. Didn’t you use to enjoy these when growing up? Most of the time there is no reason to rush until it certainly is. I have done it myself. At times, I feel I am in the race. But, it is just me, who am I racing with? Therefore, I have to step back and soak in the fleeting moments.

Hold that hand a little longer every time,
don’t miss to kiss your kids good night,
stop your car and enjoy your favorite song, with closed eyes,
Bite into that extra chocolate cake, without thinking about your size.
Sit with your kids, every so often,
and play with them without worrying about their sleep time….

Don’t ignore life!

P.S. Did you rush through this poem? ;-)

Thank you for your precious time. :)

Rush was originally published in ILLUMINATION on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I enjoy dreaming. Dreams are mysterious. They are not summoned. They just appear. The fact that our subconscious mind is so brilliant that it takes us to the places we can’t visit, and connect with people we can’t meet.

I find the world of dreams a safe place for me to visit, where every so often, my mind understands what my heart longs for. Often, I dream about things I have been thinking about lately; and sometimes out of blue, I dream about something, or someone I haven’t thought about in years. I enjoy the adventures my mind takes me on. The stories or events that are stockpiled in there, and how artfully my mind uncovers those deeply stored memories in the form of beautiful mental images. The best part is, I am always the protagonist.

I don’t remember all of my dreams, but I try to remember them as soon as I wake up from my slumber. Every so often, I would try to reconnect the dots to uncover what my subconscious mind is trying to tell my conscious counterpart.

That being said, I don’t always have pleasant dreams. I have had a few bad ones which I hardly remember. During those times I wish that my subconscious mind stay quiet. Alas, this is not always the case. I am talking about those times when I had false awakenings. It happened twice. I had them both a week apart.

They both were lucid. But it’s the second one that was more intense, and it was close to turning into a nightmare. Mm, maybe not a nightmare but it certainly was unsettling!

One fine morning, I woke up, looked around the room, got ready, and put on my shoes so I could go for a jog. At that fleeting moment, I realized that I was still asleep! I didn’t understand what just happened. I don’t know whether it was my subconscious or conscious mind that came up with the following reasoning:

“ I know I just did a few things. But I am still in my bed. Maybe it was an out-of-body experience!” <facepalm>I wonder which part of my brain came up with that lame explanation? At the time, I was not doing anything unusual. They were the same mundane tasks I did every day back then. So, if I were outside of my body, I should have done something more interesting. Duh! Well, I was done trying to explain what had just happened. I didn’t pay any more attention to my dream at that point. As a matter of fact, I concluded that I was awake in my sleep and I decided to disregard it. And after my brain was done making up stories I finally woke up.

I laughed at the trick my mind played on me. I got up. Looked around. The sun was about to rise. So, I got ready and tied my shoes. And started walking out the door when I suddenly realized I’m still in bed. This time, I didn’t find it funny. I lay there awake in my dream. I must have slept again because this same scenario happened once more. I was repeating the same tasks. This time I wanted to be “awake” badly. Something wasn’t right. I felt stuck. I was struggling to open my eyes. I was 100% sure I was awake but I wasn’t! I was in a mental struggle. Whatever I did, I just couldn’t break out of this mysterious cycle.

At this particular moment, I became frightened. It was a terrifying feeling that I was not in control of my own body and mind and there was a real concern that I would never wake up from this dream. I was suspicious that something not natural was happening to me. I felt helpless. The next time I opened my eyes, I looked around. The room looked hazy and I saw daylight outside. And when I looked out of the window, it became suddenly dark. I was back in my bed again. I felt my heart racing fast. I tried moving my hands, but I couldn’t. I became desperate. I started praying, and at this point, I recalled having had a similar dream just a week earlier. But in that dream, I did my daily chores only once. I truly believed that this time I was not getting up. I resigned myself to believe that I was stuck in this nested loop.

False awakening, is the term I unearthed after I googled about this dream I had a few years ago.

Yeah, it was a dream. But it wasn’t a dream. It felt quite real. Quite uncanny and disturbing; because after all, it was only a dream.

Why did I have that nested dream? Was it my mind trying to explain my current situation? Was I feeling stuck in real life? Was my mind trying to tell me something? Could be.

I am writing this experience down, so I did finally wake up. But how did I wake up?

It’s kind of scary. At least for me. But my friends laughed at it after empathizing for a second. What was funny to them was the idea of me waking up before sunrise and going out for a jog.

In the last phase of the dream, I was looking at my hands and feet when suddenly my feet were in the process of being transformed into furry rabbit’s feet! I kept on looking at them. And it shook me. But that was enough for me to break the cycle. Yay! But, why rabbit feet? I opened my eyes. It was before dawn. I kept lying on my bed until the sunlight hit my face. I chose not to go out for a jog that day. All sorts of thoughts that rushed through my mind were insane. I tried to make connections like I usually do after experiencing such a vivid dream. Was my dream some sort of warning? I was trying to figure out the message. I thought, maybe, this type of dream happens to people who die while sleeping. I was quite anxious that morning. But I moved on, once I was busy with my work. After going to bed that evening was when it hit me again. And I did not want to sleep that night. Fortunately, it has never happened again.

If I think about it, I still get jitters imagining the state of mind I was in. I can still see my feet changing their shape. It just stuck with me.

P.S.

This vision reminds me of the movie “Inception”. It would be magnificent if I can wake up in my dreams, and instead of doing daily chores, I could do something worth a while. <giggle> Just a thought! The journey of mind starts and ends inside of my own bedroom. Sigh!

Thank you for reading! :)

Land of Dreaming was originally published in Weeds & Wildflowers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

You are the light when there is no sun
You are the rainbow after the rain is done.

You are the star that twinkles so bright
You are the moon on a full moon’s night.

You are the wind that whistles my name
You are the change when my world is same.

You are the flower the bee never misses
You are the beach the warm sun kisses.

You are the silence when eyes talk
You are the shadow that follows when I walk.

You are the wrinkles around my eyes
You are the reason for all those smiles.

You are the sand that calms down the waves
You are the attention that a child craves

You are a river on a parched land
You are the life line carved deep on my hand.

You are the Angel on the Christmas tree
You are the love that sets me free.

Thank you for reading! :)

Copyright ©. Tejdeep Kaur 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Angel on Christmas Tree was originally published in Weeds & Wildflowers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

When Words Don’t Match the Picture

Catching a moment in the midst of the day
Along with me walks his memories
Umbrella over the rainy days
Lifts me up, takes me away
Invites me to this place
Full of laughs and innocence
Lit up my face
Opalesce
Wandered back to the existing phase
Enraptured by my treasure
Rendered gratitude on a gloomy day

Thank you Melissa Bee for tagging me in your wonderful poem. Your prompt helped me to write again.

Plant a Pass

It’s my first attempt at writing an acrostic poem. An acrostic is a poem in which the first letter of each line spells out a word, message, or the alphabet.

If anyone reading this poem is interested in joining the prompt: Pick a vegetable to guide your acrostic poem and then write a poem that’s not remotely related to vegetables at all. Quite fun!

Thank you for reading!

Copyright ©. Tejdeep Kaur 2020. All Rights Reserved.

This Poem is Not About Cauliflower was originally published in The Brain is a Noodle on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Men oh men,
why don’t they bend?

He gives me a nudge,
and tells me to hurry up

All this time, truth be known,
he’s been on the phone

He didn’t pack his shirt, he didn’t pack his pants
Then he comes up here to me and he rants

Why are you slow? Why are you late?
I have to pack his things too before we can escape!

I move up close and give him a kiss,
if you don’t behave, that’s not all you’re going to miss!

So shut up and pick up the stuff!

To read ‘him’ complaining, click on the part- I of the poem below :)

His Complaints, Her Response

Thank you for reading!:)

Copyright ©. Tejdeep Kaur 2020. All Rights Reserved.

His Complaints, Her Response was originally published in Weeds & Wildflowers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Packing oh packing,
what are you stacking?

From curling irons to fancy frills
why oh why do you have so many things?

We had this trip planned to sneak away,
Why didn’t you pack the stuff yesterday?

I wait downstairs. And wait and wait
I'm pretty sure that we'd be late

I come up to find you with contents galore,
you haven't even started? It's all on the floor!

A lot of things to doll yourself up
Dresses, heels, jewelry, and make-up

You look at me smiling so I slap your butt
and say hurry up!

Thank you for reading! :)

Copyright ©. Tejdeep Kaur 2020. All Rights Reserved.

His Complaints, Her Response was originally published in Weeds & Wildflowers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Because the world spins out of control
without you in it
The stars are just galore
without you in it

The roses are just thorns
without you in it
Rains are just storms
without you in it

The beach sand is just dirt
without you in it
the sun just creates deserts
without you in it

The laugh lines are just wrinkles
without you in it
Waterfalls are just trickles
without you in it

Music is just a sound
without you in it
Parties are just crowd
without you in it

Speeches are just drawl
without you in it
Home is just four walls
without you in it

Thank you for reading! :)

Copyright ©. Tejdeep Kaur 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Without You in It was originally published in ILLUMINATION on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.