wanderlust.

 In my library there are 6 books

1.

I was born in the ocean,

it was night

there was a light breeze

I know this is not true

because my mother can't swim,

but when I close my eyes

and click my heels

I see only gentle waves

draped in a midnight moon.

I don't know

what this means.

Or the kind of man

it makes me

All I know is that

when I'm at sea-level

everything makes sense

2.

To the girls who will

fall in love with me,

take note.

I will love you

violently,

absolutely

and without compromise.

today, tomorrow

and maybe the day after

What I mean is

the Star Trek laser gun

of my undying affection

is set to incinerate.

What I mean is

kiss me on the cheek

and I'll shine so bright

I'd roast a turkey at twenty paces.

What I mean is

I'm afraid my hands

are too big

to carry you safely

What I mean is

I don't know how to love at an even burn.

But some day I might just open a door

and be able to love you

everyday

every time

and everywhere.

But for now please understand

that when you are in front of me

I hear only the sweetest violin music

3.

The first girl I ever loved

was on the Disney Channel.

in the grey hours of morning

I'd lay there among yesterdays toys

waiting for her smile

her teeth jagged

on my CRT screen,

she flips her Technicolor hair

then rolls out

the anthropomorphised rodent messiah

that I had to worship

to prove my love to her

You see,

my seven-year old heart

was a sucker

for prepackaged escapism

in a sundress

so I accepted the Mouse

into my soul

and I preached his word

on the playground

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

I chanted,

a child soldier on a crusade,

Donald Duck water-bottle

held like a scimitar

I lead my school-yard congregation

in prime-time prayer

But then she started seeing her co-host

and I switched to the Cartoon Network,

You see

I learned what love was, Mickey.

It's a rat-faced lie we all tell.

And I'll never forget my first time.

4.

You asked me where I got this t-shirt

I took a trip outside of myself

and it was all I came back with

5.

When I was a little boy

I danced with God.

He told me stories

and gave me heroes to play with

but in my dance I spun away

and found the song of the universe

to be louder than the words on the page

The melody is old

and hard to hear

over the roaring thunder

but it begs us to remember

that somewhere,

something incredible

is waiting to be known

that we're all

waiting to be known

and for small things like us

the vastness is bearable

only through love.

6.

I am continually amazed

by the ongoing process of being human.

All of you amaze me,

you wonderful machines.

all cheekbones and elbows

and tangled balls of string

If these fingers were nimble enough

I'd rip myself apart

layer by layer

exposing the sacred chaos

and tiny infinities

that live inside you.

I'd do it every night.

Standing on rooftops and flagpoles

with a marching band and fireworks

screaming through a megaphone

putting all my gears and levers

on display

till my my eyes are steeped

in burning flowers

and the choking floodwaters

fall beneath my chest

Then I'd step back

and ask for your name.

"My name is Praveen," I'd say

"Take my hand. There's something I need to show you."