post xi - how do i make it stay?
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post xi - how do i make it stay?

i’ve been to many cities,

states, and countries many miles away

i went all the way from my home in maryland

to my homes in california and in bombay

i did it all within this year

just 2025

in those moments, i felt such joy, such brightness in my eyes

but now i sit still & think, where did the time fly?

what a blessing it is

to call so many places home

but if home is where the heart is

my heart must be in pieces, taped together just by a flight or a phone

i’ve done so much,

i’ve lived this year so fast…

so tell me - how do i live in the present

when the present so suddenly becomes the past?

i try to cling onto every moment

“this only happens once in a lifetime”, i say

but when every moment is fleeting, barely ephemeral

i have to ask - “how do i make it stay?”

is it too much to ask for?

im not asking for time to stand still

the clock can keep ticking, the sun can keep rising

i’ll wake up to my alarms, and the birds can keep chirping to their will

but if there’s any chance

this fleeting moment can translate to memory

the laughter, the panic, the ecstasy, the heartbreak

it all just happened too fast, i want to feel it again in all its glory

when i’m back with my parents,

i try to reminisce the moment with them again

but now when they laugh, i see a wrinkle that wasn’t there last time

it reminds me that the moment has passed, and now not even its memory is certain

i plead with the world everyday,

just let me live this moment a little longer

but when every moment is fleeting, barely ephemeral

i have to ask - “how do i make it stay?”