a different side of you

i was a different side of you

i was the side you longed to be like
but never could

even though
you imbibed the essence of me,
greedily
i kept giving

i was the side of you
that you were afraid of
because i showed you
who you are

i was the side of you
unfeigned honesty
whether bitterly admonishing you
or syrupy adulation
chuckling at your ballooning ego
picking holes through the burden of your guilt
[and many a time adding to it]

i was the side of you that listened to
[incomplete] stories
poetry that hid between
the folds of your soul
dared to flow through my pen

i was the side of you
that never listened
but always understood
the side that you never met
but was ever present

i was the side of you
that flew away
though never quite left

i was a different side of you
but essentially the same

come to me
or call me to you

***

Today after a long time, poetry flowed with ease like it used to before – credit to a wonderful morning meditation session. The poem itself was complete, but deep down I wished I could end it with a slightly deviating couplet.

Several hours later, during my night walk I was listening to a podcast about how Gulzar (poet, lyricist) and R. D. Burman (musician) were often paired together to create the most memorable, magical songs. Gulzar wrote a dedication to R. D. Burman and in that poem, I found the couplet I was searching for: come to me, or call me to you

Signing off with Chingari Koi Bhadke. I used to love this song as it had my favorite actor of the time, Rajesh Khanna ღ. Now I appreciate the song also because of the beautiful lyrics.

Lyrics excerpt

Chingaari koii bhadke
If someone lights a spark
To saawan use bujhaaye
Then the rains will put it out
Saawan jo agan lagaaye, use kaun bhujaaye?
But if the rains start a fire, who will put it out?

Koi dushman thhais lagaaye
If an enemy strikes you a blow
To miit jiyaa bahalaaye
Then your beloved will nurse you
Manmiit jo ghaav lagaaye, use kaun mitaaye?
But who can nurse the wounds your beloved strikes?

Here are the full lyrics with translation
https://mrandmrs55.com/2012/08/09/chingari-koi-bhadke-lyrics-and-translation-lets-learn-urdu-hindi/