It’s the glint of a phone screen in a darkened room,
a daughter’s whisper caught between the hum of the city,
her eyes flicking to the window where the night spills over—
light flickers from cars that pass by, smeared in rain,
the world outside dissolving like a breath on glass.
In Mumbai, at dawn, the streets are already awake,
the air thick with the scent of spices,
the hands of the hawker pulling fresh chapati from the fire,
laughter echoing off crumbling walls,
the pulse of life riding the waves of the monsoon.
In Paris, the baker kneads dough by moonlight,
dusting flour like soft snow,
the city’s pulse throbbing in every corner—
an artist paints shadows on the Seine,
a lover leaves a kiss on a lamppost.
And yet—
we sit here,
watching screens,
reading the same words
but the present slips between our fingers,
like sand, like water,
like time too busy to wait for us.
In New York, it’s rush hour—
the rhythm of footsteps, the clang of trains,
a million souls colliding, scattering,
each chasing a dream of now,
each still searching for the next step
in a city that never sleeps.
But here, in the silence of a home,
I can hear my own breath,
my own pulse ticking in my chest
as the clock on the wall takes its sweet time,
pushing the hours like heavy clouds.
The world is out there,
but the only place I’m certain is here.
In Tokyo, neon lights blur the night sky,
a thousand screens flashing with futures,
but the woman in the park walks with her thoughts,
each step mindful,
each step echoing the song of now—
the city hums, but her peace is still.
I look at the spaces between us,
all the places we think we aren’t,
when the truth is—
we are always here,
we are always now,
woven into the fabric of the moment
wherever we go,
whenever we leave.
And I realise,
it’s not the place that holds us,
but the present,
the pulse of today that beats inside us,
everywhere,
anywhere,
whether we’re waking in the noise of a city,
or sitting in the quiet of our own minds—
we are always here,
always present,
even when we’re far away.
INSTANT NOODLES 