drowned in black river
of frozen spring
seeking the winds of summer
I am parched and crumbled
blistered by my limits
burned by waves of stale
edges shifting and unsettled
they undulate in a rhythm
where silence ends
and nocturne begins
and my spirit spills over like dust

words by carrara/banaji
photophraphy by Vadim Stein

Trace my thirst
to where the gilded sun
burns away the mist and
Flattens against the wall of my skin

Waterless mouth
I swallow for wanting
a symphony of bright shadows
And a stream of white lies

The ebb and flow of forgotten memories
drowns me out with the tide

Moonless glow
From an iridescent pupa
and born of ash we seek
to drift through pale walls

our sorrow left behind
forever goodbye

words © malai carrara
photography © nausher banaji

I crave your vintage
The smooth nectar
of sanguine orbs
ripe and aching
on curling tendrils

Unfold them like so
And express the sweet
The night color velvet
And heavenly choral
To quench my thirst

words © malai carrara
google image

She fights the stench
of rotting submission
with short inhales and mouth closed

she resists the scratchy skin
of inevitability
closing in around her

She digs her heels
Into the soft tissue
And her grief lets out

words © malai carrara
photography © nausher banaji

Today

I imagined you
at that little table
sitting as the locals do
Early in the morning
with an espresso at hand
Your eyes adjusting
Skin warmed by sun
And the aroma of languid
Curling off you like smoke

At one time....
I wished it could be me
Sitting next to you
Tasting the sugar on pastry
still flakey from the oven
or walking on cobbled ambiguity
in tempo enough with gods
while sipping a wine
of living and loving sweetly

At one time….

words © malai carrara
photography © nausher banaji

An eclipse cast by inky eyes
....drawing boundaries
....drowning light
And she is suspended in the moment

The sour taste of indecision
...mouth parched
...throat tightened
a fog-like silver ochre spilling a suffocating haze

And ghosts hover in dust
...waiting for surrender
...waiting for the light of day
by the stained window of expectations

words © malai carrara
photography courtesy of Klas Falk, Sweden

I feel what you feel in you
Emotional might of gladiators
skin soft as velvet
sweet glances of anticipation
while you seek my full mouth

I feel what you feel in you
The intertwining of our fingers
Resplendent and secure
The sinuous curves of language
Dissolving over skin

I feel what you feel in you
Your voice ascending mountain-tops
Silhouetting doubts
The closeness of our incense
Evaporating sweet

and as each moment
takes its place in memory
by now you must know my love
I feel what you feel


words © malai carrara
photography © nausher banaji