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Pocket Poems

Short, plainspoken poems about love, longing, loss, and memory, and the quiet work of seeing yourself and the people you’ve lost without disguise.

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  1. 96 A New Beginning I wanted to know what it would feel like to start over from that quiet place
  2. 95 I Traded You for a Ghost I chose being alone over being with you, and I'm still not sure it was the right trade.
  3. 94 Don't Follow Me I keep showing you the version of me I've polished, and I don't know how to stop.
  4. 93 The Lady in White I watched a stranger on the train and built an entire life for her in my head before she ever looked up.
  5. 92 This Unpredictable Life I keep colliding with strangers and moments I never saw coming, and somehow that's the whole point.
  6. 91 Kissing Today I had to choose between chasing an old memory, dreaming of a future and staying here.
  7. 90 Half Full, Half Empty I keep staring at the same glass, unable to decide which version of us I actually believe.
  8. 89 Shifting Lens The choices I once regretted look completely different depending on which day I examine them.
  9. 88 Mirror I finally looked past my own reflection and saw something I'd been avoiding.
  10. 87 From Stranger to Soulmate I still remember the exact moment you stopped being someone I didn't know.
  11. 86 Dopamine Effect I keep chasing that same rush of anticipation, even though I already know how the letdown feels.
  12. 85 The Pale Blue Dot Knowing how small our planet really is somehow made the love I have here feel bigger, not smaller.
  13. 84 Echoes of Lost Dreams I keep hearing what my dreams used to sound like before life got louder.
  14. 83 This is Life I stopped needing applause to believe my life meant something.
  15. 82 Eternal Embrace I've started to believe love and loss were never really separate from each other.
  16. 81 Maya Thinking about how small we are in the universe somehow makes me care more about the people in front of me, not less.
  17. 80 The Morning Every day the river renews itself, and I keep wondering if I'm capable of
  18. 79 Me I tried to answer who I actually am underneath writer, technologist, father, and son, and I'm still not done.
  19. 78 Tajmahal Standing in front of a monument built for love, I couldn't help wondering what I'd build for mine.
  20. 77 Maggie A dog chasing attention at the pool reminded me how simple wanting to be
  21. 76 Await .. I'm holding onto hope even when everything in me feels exhausted by waiting for it.
  22. 75 House of Emotions I keep letting the loudest feeling in the room win, and I'm trying to understand why.
  23. 74 The Relationship Quandary I've stopped expecting certainty from this relationship and started trying
  24. 73 Dream Girl I wasn't looking for anything more than friendship, and then, somehow, I
  25. 72 Corona Virus My own family reacted so differently to the same lockdown that I started to see each of them clearly for the first time.
  26. 71 Awakening I let go of wanting things, and something quieter finally had room to show up.
  27. 70 Darkness of the Night I still get haunted, some nights, by someone who isn't here anymore.
  28. 69 Life Philosophies I keep making the same list of things I'm trying to let go of, and I keep needing to make it again.
  29. 68 Let it go I'm learning that holding on tightly to outcomes is the fastest way to miss what's actually happening.
  30. 67 Seesaw This ended, and I still haven't figured out how to stop feeling the tilt of it.
  31. 66 Those were the days I keep going back, in my head, to a version of love that was simpler than I knew at the time.
  32. 65 Pillars of My Life My mother and my aunt taught me what strength actually looks like, and I'm still leaning on what they built in me.
  33. 64 She There's a presence that shows up in my quietest moments and somehow makes them feel less alone.
  34. 63 Broken I watched someone who once seemed unstoppable slowly become someone age could reach.
  35. 62 Lost I'm watching someone I love struggle to recognize the life she's standing in.
  36. 61 25 I keep wondering who's actually holding the reins of the life I think I'm steering.
  37. 60 Life Explained I went looking for one clean definition of life and, unsurprisingly, never found it.
  38. 59 Shadowed love I've been keeping a companion no one else can see, and it never quite leaves.
  39. 58 Moments I keep collecting the tiny moments that, without me noticing, ended up defining everything.
  40. 57 The Road I'm standing at a fork between the quiet path and the crowded one, and I still haven't picked.
  41. 56 The Mansion Behind all that visible wealth, I noticed something quietly falling apart that no one else seemed to see.
  42. 55 I want to sing a song I just want someone to actually hear me, not just listen.
  43. 54 Strawberry Honey I lost myself completely in one dance, one moment, with you.
  44. 53 Pause I keep chasing outside approval when life has been telling me all along to look inward instead.
  45. 52 Whisper of Love We didn't need words on that walk, and I still think about the silence.
  46. 51 Cold Water The shock of jumping in was nothing compared to how good it felt once I stopped resisting it.
  47. 50 Sitting in a Crowded Train I watched the rain and the strangers around me and lost track of which thoughts
  48. 49 Beautiful Dear I keep finding new moments in the day to remind you how much you mean to me.
  49. 48 Conversation with Life I keep trying to understand what "letting go" actually requires of me, moment
  50. 47 Into the Wilderness Stepping into the unknown terrified me right up until it didn't.
  51. 46 Shades of Tree I found more comfort under one tree on a hot day than I expected from anything else that week.
  52. 45 Departed Grief showed up the same week as a stack of mundane errands, and she had to hold both at once.
  53. 44 Dreams of Hope I keep circling back to a love that once felt promising and never quite resolved.
  54. 43 Those Lazy Days I miss the version of us that had nowhere better to be than a rooftop.
  55. 42 Threshold She was standing right at the edge of something new, and yet she was not sure if she was ready.
  56. 41 Breaking Free Leaving India as a young adult taught me that choosing the unfamiliar path is a habit, not a one-time decision.
  57. 40 The Invite The diagnosis came, and so did an anger I didn't know I was capable of.
  58. 39 Signature I keep wondering what mark I'm actually leaving behind, and whether anyone will notice it.
  59. 38 Zombies I watched an entire train car of people stare at their phones and realized I probably looked exactly the same.
  60. 37 Utopia I'm tired of chasing a version of hope that keeps turning out to be false.
  61. 36 Our Strange World I can feel us drifting further apart, even sitting in the same room.
  62. 35 That Little Moment There's one moment I keep replaying that never quite resolves itself.
  63. 34 Be a Good Little Monkey My toddler's mischief today reminded me how much joy there is in not taking any of this too seriously.
  64. 33 The Ghost Watching the sunset, I could have sworn I felt you standing right beside me again.
  65. 32 Tap Tap Tap I caught myself updating my status again before I'd even decided if anything worth saying had happened.
  66. 31 Two Worlds My son and I sit two feet apart, him in a video game and me in the stock market, and neither of us is really looking up.
  67. 30 Glimmer of Hope One embrace was enough to convince me the passion hadn't actually gone anywhere.
  68. 29 15 We're still going through the motions of something that stopped meaning what it used to.
  69. 28 An elephant wins a friend I wrote about a lonely elephant looking for a friend in the city, and I'm not sure who I was really writing about.
  70. 27 Strangers We're bound together by circumstance, and somehow that's not the same as being close.
  71. 26 Wrinkles on the face She looked in the mirror and had to make peace with everything the lines on here face were keeping score of.
  72. 25 Waiting for Her I woke up to a relationship I almost didn't recognize anymore.
  73. 24 Reflection I sat still long enough to actually notice the rain, the wind, and the light changing.
  74. 23 Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde I can feel two very different versions of myself fighting for the same seat.
  75. 22 The Shrine of Disney The anticipation leading up to that trip turned out to be its own kind of magic.
  76. 21 Break up I watched my parents' marriage end as a kid, and I'm still sorting through what that left behind.
  77. 20 The Drunkard Everyone else could see it before I let myself admit how far gone I actually was.
  78. 19 Growing Apart I can trace the exact moment our priorities stopped lining up.
  79. 18 Living the Dead Life I keep chasing the next stage of life instead of actually living the one
  80. 17 One Way Street I'm raising a child while time keeps moving in a direction I can't reverse, and I feel every bit of that.
  81. 16 Angry I'm angry at the world, at other people, and honestly, mostly at myself.
  82. 15 First Day at School I was more nervous than my kid was on their first day of school, and I'm still not over it.
  83. 14 Frozen Tears I can't shake what happened to a child who never should have had to endure it.
  84. 13 Perfect Partner I found the one place I can fully exhale, and it's whenever I'm with you.
  85. 12 The Game I keep telling myself this was just a game, and I'm not sure either of us
  86. 11 Broken Leg I watched someone who once held a family together get left to manage alone.
  87. 10 Memory I still set two cups of coffee out of habit, long after only needing one.
  88. 09 Little World At nine months old, apparently, I already had opinions about everything.
  89. 08 You and Me The whole world keeps changing around us, and somehow we're the one constant I can count on.
  90. 07 What have you done for me? One careless sentence from someone I loved is still living rent-free in my head.
  91. 06 Made for Each Other We were supposed to fit, and I'm still trying to understand why we never
  92. 05 In love with Loneliness Loneliness has become such a familiar companion that I'm not sure I know
  93. 04 Death I've started to think of death less as an ending to fear and more as a destination
  94. 03 Falling in Love One unplanned encounter and, before I knew it, we were sharing a kiss neithern of us expected.
  95. 02 If Only .. I never told you how I felt, and now I just carry the "what if."
  96. 01 Memories of Another Day I keep getting pulled back into people and places I thought I'd already left