R E E N A D O S S
A Writer Of The Heart
I floundered a bit,
walking on paths I feared to tread,
uncomfortable leaving my comfort zone,
not certain of how my story would end.
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Questions asked all the time,
giving rise to self-doubt,
second guessing myself,
breaking apart in the middle.
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Trudging along like a dusty wagon,
carrying burdens on wheels not my own,
answers requested about things I don’t yet know
and people judging my crazy soul.
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How to explain all that’s not in your control
when its grains and curves
keep slipping and reshaping its slopes
like the barren desert sands.
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Casting a fog in my head like a cloudy sky,
polluting the air, making my breathing toxin,
my stress built up in tidal waves from trying
to make a living through the night and the day.
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Then all of a sudden, I came to a crashing halt…​
I was done sleeping through fights
and not having a say.
I grabbed a piece of paper, ink and a pen
sat down determined and started to write.
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Everything slowed down and got very quiet
as if my surroundings were acknowledging my right.
The winds of change blew hard and strong,
compelling my fingers to continue its flow.
​
And when my ink ran out,
my heart filled it in
by drawing out my lifeblood’s pain
and tenderly calling my name.
My reason for being began anew
A writer of the heart, I was I knew.
A Writer Of The Heart was first published in Ikigai: the reason for being by Paper Paints and Poetry at FanatiXx in 2019. It was edited and compiled by Janani and Anupama.
I AM EARTH
Solidifying the ground beneath your feet,
helping you stand upon the foundation
of unbridled, dazzling creation
that you leave behind in shreds
to unreasonable destruction and ruin...
But I still have the ability to build and refashion
life in all its aching, fundamental beauty.
I AM AIR
Breathing hope into dry bones,
so brittle and edgy from stone cold isolation,
forgotten and hidden from sight;
until I help you inhale and exhale,
teaching you how to let go of fear,
urging you to take on new challenges
with grace and racing speed.
I AM FIRE
Coursing through your veins
like a golden phoenix rising from the ashes,
destined to smoulder and set aflame
like wildfire running through the mountains and trees,
catching you in its wake
of bright light and turbulence
so you can finally hear
my scream, my voice.
I AM WATER
Flooding your dreams with rich imagination,
adapting to changes with the ease of the waves,
tossing them over stormy waters
constantly shifting with its currents,
then turning calm and silent
in thoughtful reverie and meditation,
watching in indulgence as ships sail.
I AM AETHER
Generating space all around you
to wallow in the unknown rather than in self-pity
and to discover novel perspectives in old tales,
while you cherish the quintessence of alone time
discerning the difference in unexplored worlds,
between crowds and the things that matter.
But most of all, I know
I AM A WRITER of the human heart
born to shake your existence
with shocking twists and truths
bluntly retold with the nib of my pen.
My Writer’s base tools of truth
The Elements And I
The Elements and I was first published in The 2019 Poetry Marathon Anthology by The Poetry Marathon in 2019. It was edited and compiled by Jennifer Faylor.
Obstacles Unravelling
In the eye of the storm,
I have always looked up
at the star-studded sky
taken strength from the knowledge
that I was not forgotten
as I stood at the foot
of the seemingly
insurmountable mountain
before me;
looming like a dark impossible mission,
mocking my inability to accomplish
climbing it to the very top,
laughing at my absurd beginning
as I stumbled over its rocks,
bruising my knees,
discarding my shoes
to massage blistered feet.
Arms scraped and bleeding,
fingertips red,
hair wildly tangled
with the wind’s ruthless temper
reaching mid-way, and pausing,
wondering if I should give up
and head back down
for the night was pitch black
and the summit much too difficult
to keep going forward.
But the silver stars twinkled bright,
shining its light onto paths
I hadn’t noticed before.
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And having rested, I resolved to try again
battling the fierce wind, cold weather,
aching bones and burdens of grief.
Till I at last, reached the top of the mountain
and laid myself flat upon its soft, cool grass,
gazing in wonder at the heavens
and in gratitude at the stars
for giving me the unbelievable strength
to overcome the impossible
by defeating the giant obstacle before me
with perseverance, patience and fortitude.
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When the stars descend upon the mountain tops
Obstacles Unravelling was first published in Misplaced Devotion: Works About Love by Ambient Heights in 2019. It was edited, and compiled by Jo Underwood.
An Indian Sun Year
Summer with its heady heat and dipping pools,
holiday adventure treats beckon loved ones.
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Monsoon with its soaked mud and unpredictable showers,
enhances the earth's scent as we sip hot chai with friends.
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Autumn with its falling leaves and russet sun colors,
closes chapters and welcomes the start of all things new.
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Winter with its chilly breeze and white loneliness,
cloaks itself away from bitter crowds under warm blankets.
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Spring with its joyful sounds of enthusiasm and rich steaming life,
celebrates the shortest season of an Indian sun's true delight.
An Indian Sun Year was published in the Sun Cycle: Celebrating the World’s Seasons by Teal Moon Publishing in 2019. It was edited and compiled by Sky Heywood at Poet Spotlight.
Sun Cycle Across Continents
To be added
Reena Doss contributed this piece to a group collaboration—Sun Cycle Across Continents—in the Sun Cycle: Celebrating the World’s Seasons anthology. It was edited and compiled by Sky Heywood at Poet Spotlight, and published by Teal Moon Publishing in 2019.
The Pill Of Happiness
When you stop chasing it,
happiness is a flighty butterfly
that will kiss you delicately
as you gape in open-mouthed wonder,
at her exquisite, colourful beauty,
close-up on the bridge of your nose,
realising she can’t stay forever
but nevertheless, enjoying her charming presence
when she does stop awhile to shower you
with rewards unimaginable.
Don’t swat her away,
allow the moment to lift you up
with the knowledge that she chose you,
a rare and unmistakeable honour
to cherish and envelop you
in her bountiful, graceful ecstasy
of ravishing beauty.
The Pill Of Happiness was first published in Poetry Pills: A prescription for goodness by Paper Paints and Poetry at Notion Press in 2020. It was edited and compiled by Janani and Anupama.
These broken hearts
are like exploding cannonballs
tick-tocking to a halt, caught in slow motion
across the horizontal layers of time,
carrying acres of pain over the years
inflicting ruin and starting arson flames
in other hearts that were once whole.
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These broken hearts are heavy
abundant in reckless love, hidden in fear
but hungrily greedy for the gentle touch
of spring’s breeze as they bear alone
the harsh winds of winter,
bracing themselves for endless cold,
buried to the top in ice and snow
waiting for the sun to thaw and warm
their dry and weary bones.
​​
These broken hearts
need compassionate words to restore
their broken, darkened minds
in hearts that have become too fragile
from constant evil whispers in their soul
telling them they are too damaged
to ever return to have a different destiny.
These broken hearts search the world
for kind words to salve their wounds,
to break their chains from imprisonment,
to build anew their cities with life once more
and for someone to call their own.
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These broken hearts need healing words
to remember that through their scars
they have transformed into a lighthouse
to save other shattered and defeated hearts
lying forgotten in storm-tossed wreckages.
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These broken hearts need healing words
to redeem themselves for they are
and have always been
divinely worthy.
The Power and Responsibility of Words
The Power and Responsibility of Words was first published in Broken Hearts—Healing Words by A.B.Baird Publishing in 2019. It was edited and compiled by Austie M Baird.
Translations Of Hope
In a world where darkness
is constantly being showcased,
Hope is a tiny flicker often ignored,
rarely noticed and mostly shoved away.
We need to throw a powerful spotlight
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on this wonderful dainty fairy
for with her flame,
she ignites and sows Faith
which teaches us
perseverance and endurance
all the time cultivating
the shooting stem of love
until the sun suddenly fights to shine
upon a flower blossoming and blooming
in the wildest, thickest, coldest winter.
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Grand beginnings from disastrous endings
Translations Of Hope was first published in New Decade New Beginnings in its first edition in 2020, and later in 2022 by Poets Choice. It was edited and compiled by Akshay Sonthalia.
Freedom in Hope’s Wings
I lay down in darkness again
burrowed head in pillows.
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Soft blankets cause shivers
when wicked nightmares imprison
as they enter my dark purging realms
whispering lies of my unworthiness
awaiting my demise of forgotten deeds.
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I remain in abject misery
hopelessly a captive.
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Grateful I’m supposed to be,
yet here I am sleepless, discontent
and unable to be concerned about others.
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I smile and nod and say the right things
but no one realises I’m not there.
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I’m entrapped
in the solitude of my mind.
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When dawn approaches,
I shut the windows to sleep,
having stayed awake
through the night
for fear of the shadows and shapes
evil makes on my wall.
Days pass into months and then he came along, springing back the curtains, inviting that bright sun.
Laughter like a lost dream I begin to hear,
uncertain at its beginning, gasping on knowing
its sound had come from my lips so willingly.
For though the long winter
was still a part of my heart,
he’d brought hopeful spring
to sing songs to my soul.
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Freedom; Hope is a bird that sings
as it flies only when you give it its wings.
Freedom In Hope’s Wings was first published in Mind: A poetry anthology exploring mental health by Poet Spotlight in 2020. It was edited and compiled by Sky Heywood.
Somedays
To Be Added
Reena Doss contributed this piece to a group collaboration—Somedays—in Mind: A poetry anthology exploring mental health anthology. It was edited and compiled by Sky Heywood and published by Poet Spotlight in 2020.
Christmas; The Greatest Gift Of All
Angels sing songs to our stagnant spirits,
frequently lost in the new world
by announcing the birth of our Savior,
joyfully born into our hearts.
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Christ is an agape
that renews, purifies, and restores
tired, weary, desperate, broken minds,
filling hungry and thirsty souls
with everlasting food and drink
(not the physical kind we enjoy momentarily)
but with spiritual fruits that nourish us eternally
and need to be shared with everyone.
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They will unchain imprisoned bodies
with the knowledge of His great mercy,
through compassion for hearts
too wretched to accept themselves.
How easily we forget
in our monotonous living
what this beautiful day
actually means.
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Caught up in the act
of gift giving and receiving,
gossip and external niceties,
we miss the fundamental truth
that Christmas is a festival
freely given from the King above
as the greatest gift of Love.
Christmas; The Greatest Gift Of All was first published in The Diary Of Festivities by Notion Press in 2019. It was edited and compiled by Ishani Agarwal.
I don’t believe God is like the God we place in a box.
I think he’s going to forever be beyond our understanding.
He created us so He knows the way we think,
not in the way humanity does—through eyes
that notice colors, genders, sexes, nationalities, sins,
mental disorders, physical disabilities, and temptations.
He sees each one as perfect, as a whole being, and loves us
individually, as if we were the only ones in the world.
His love is pure, perfect, and everlasting
and He’ll die in His legendary great passion
to deliver us, unworthy sinners by rescuing us
in the daily cross of our deaths for that one day,
when we look up—destitute, aimless, hopeless
in our hope to find Him always there, waiting—
arms stretched wide open in Love.
When we finally learn to surrender, we rediscover
this amazing grace enveloping our hearts, minds,
and bodies with its complete lack of expectation
in an embrace of unconditional warmth, touching
and healing our broken spirits.
When we stop holding on to our crosses selfishly
but offer them to Him for the salvation of many,
they all get absorbed in His cross (already conquered
through His passion, death, and resurrection),
serving a higher purpose that encompasses humanity,
magically curing the resentment and bitterness
of the past in those lives we have given them up for.
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For the cross has always been the stone
which many builders rejected,
never having recognized it before.
Yet He receives each cross gladly,
transforming what evil planned to destroy
into glorious witnesses for the world to see.
No longer are we condemned
to the world of mortality
for the Superhero of superheros
has given Himself completely,
opening the way to eternity through the cross.
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It is this overwhelming mystery that we celebrate
as the Passover of our Lord, our Easter
in this marked time of benevolent grace
because He who bore all earthly suffering
was God himself, cloaked in humility,
human fragility magnificently exalted,
willingly dying as a sacrificial lamb,
persecuted like a criminal.
Easter eggs, hot cross buns, night vigils,
and masses in sequence…
How we complain without ever comprehending,
that talking about bunnies and chickens
have no real place of honor in the reality
of what we are celebrating—
Eternal Life.
Easter; The Significance of the Cross
Easter; The Significance of the Cross was first published in The Diary Of Festivities by Notion Press in 2019. It was edited and compiled by Ishani Agarwal.
There is a presence
older than the ocean's song,
or a mountain's voice
or even the screeching owl's.
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It rushes past in strength and stealth
invisible to the eye but felt upon our skin,
raising goosebumps and squeezing tears
out of hearts grown too numb to care.
It slides into view
like a tornado's symphony,
heralding things to come,
a sober prophecy.
Its subtle nudge shakes us back and forth
to accept change with courage,
to take heed of circumstances,
to move forward in action,
to become our full potential,
and to face all our fears.
This mighty fierce and relentless power
extends within like an unseen hand
to touch and center the organs of our bodies,
breathing in its wisdom, igniting,
and reviving dried up blood and aching muscles,
resetting our sunken spirits’ software
that had long forgotten
its nature and purposeful calling.
It completes
the gaping holes of emptiness
that we tirelessly seek to fill
with other momentary pleasures.
This constantly urging soft and gentle breeze
is the breath of God we adore,
and long to reunite with as one
with every beat of our hearts.
Pentecost; Anointing of the Holy Spirit
Pentecost; Anointing of the Holy Spirit was first published in The Diary Of Festivities by Notion Press in 2019. It was edited and compiled by Ishani Agarwal.