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Raasta

Zindagi ke is jungle me bheed bohot hai Behti nadiyon jaise chalti gadiyan Badhti aabadi jaise ugati fasal Murjhate phoolon jaise panapte rishte Hai savera yahan fir bhi chhaye hain andheron ke baadal Kahan hai wo ek raasta jo mujhe jannat se mila de

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Silence

I want to say a lot but have to keep it inside, there is lot to give but have to just swallow it, my heart thrives a lot but have to keep quiet because howmuch ever I love you, i don’t want to hurt you.

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Prem kavitao

Vhaal na dariyama bhatki gai che hodi mari Dur dur bas ekalta na andhara che Sachvine bolta dheeme dheeme halesa mari Kyarek dosti ni unchi lehro ave che Ne kinare avi puche mali ke nai vhaal ni hodi mari

Prem no bhandar kyare batavis tane Ketli vaato baki che kyare sambhdavis tane Juni palo ne saathe jivvi che paachi Je nathi kidhu eno ehsaas karavis tane

Aapde kyare malya e yaad nathi pan Pello…

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Have you checked our new website?

Have you checked our new website?

We have moved to www.pretravels.co.uk . Do check our website for latest updates and more blog posts. Happy Travelling!

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Sydney in 5 days!

Sydney in 5 days!

Sydney  is the combination of urban and boho at the same time. There is something for everyone here. Don’t believe, read on.

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Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace.

Paul Theroux

Yes I know it is a crazy idea to do Hawaii in just 3 days but trust me you won’t regret it. We were flying from Seattle and had to take a stopover in Hawaii before flying to Australia. And we are glad we got out of the airport, and enjoyed this paradise for the little time we had.

Day 1

We landed in the afternoon at the Honolulu Airport. It is the most open airport with least security I have ever visited. The airport has an open chinese themed garden inside its building and it is beautiful. The city is only half an hour from the airport so Uber/Lyft is reasonable. We stayed in Waikiki Hotel La Croix to reduce travelling time. After freshening up, we headed to the night markets near the Hilton Hotel only after seeing the most beautiful sunset from the Waikiki beach. The market has quite a few restaurants, shops, and live music. This is the place to be at night in Waikiki. During the day, this area is bustling with people sunbathing, learning to swim in the Lagoons, surfing or just chilling at the beach. The famous Hawaiian Cookies co has a store here and gives free tasters, what more do we need. There are a lot of pearl shops here, a lot. Do your research beforehand and don’t get mugged. Being vegetarian is not that easy in Hawaii so we stuck to Subway veggie patties.

Sunset at Waikiki beach

Night market near Hilton Village

Day 2

Our aim and goal was to do snorkelling in Hawaii and what better location than Hanauma Bay. It is a reef that was created after a volcanic activity several years ago. So the environment is the best for corals and fishes to flourish. The entry is only $7.50 per person from 7:30 am to 5 pm. You can find more details about parking, daily updates etc here. There is a shop to hire snorkeling glasses and fins. But we got ours from Snorkel Bob as we needed prescription glasses and they are cheaper than the one at the park.  There are also lockers with unlimited access so you can remove anything any time. Also reef safe sunscreen as not all sunscreens off the shelf are good for marine life. We had not done snorkeling before ever so this was our first time and not ot mention without a guide/tutor. And trust me we enjoyed a lot. The videos and pictures will only help your imagination. Only thing to remember to take food and water as it is expensive to buy at the park and there is only one restaurant. Snorkeling is a tiring activity so that evening we relaxed taking a stroll around the city and supermarkets to buy essentials.

Day 3

The morning started with a walk to the waikiki beach. A little crowded but a lot strong current. Compared to Hanauma bay, the waves were really fast. So we took a stroll to the nearby luxury stores. There is a lot of shopping options for all age groups and in all price ranges. In the afternoon, we left for the Luau ceremony in Paradise Cove. It is traditional Hawaiian dinner ceremony which has been commercialised for tourists with dance performances and traditional activities of Hawaiian culture. It is a one time must experience if you are visiting first time. And yes they do serve vegetarian food. The best part was the sunset. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. The sky had turned orange, and the sun was going down at the end of the sea. Almost felt like I could see where the earth ends or atleast curves. The horizon was blue as the sea took it waves, the orange sun was going down and the green land in between was where I stood with the love of my life. This was the end of our Hawaii trip but the memories are still in front of me.

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To read more about our travels, do check here. Happy Travelling!!

  3 days in Hawaii Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace. Paul Theroux

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The city of Seattle, the biggest city of Washington state, it does live up to its hype. Known for the first Starbucks and home to a lot of technology companies, Seattle has its own charm.

We had a day to explore the city. The first stop had to be the

Boeing Factory

We were lucky to  get a reservation on the same day. I would recommend booking in advance if you are looking for a particular slot. We reached half an hour before our slot and had enough time to get our tickets, put away our stuff in lockers (nothing is allowed, no purse, wallet, phone etc) and use the toilets as there are none for next 1.5 hours of the tour. The factory is huge and there is quiet a lot of walking involved. They do have golf cars for people of old age and who cannot walk for long. It is unbelievable to see how many planes are under construction at one time. The tour guide was giving so much information at one time that I hardly remember any of it. The planes go through stages of production from assembly to painting to polishing and final assembly. Even if you are not into engineering, definitely visit this place.

Lunch @ Thai Tom

Suggested by a family member, we were excited to visit this thai restaurant. It is a really small restaurant on the University road with amazing food. The chef literally does a dance to flip woks while making food. We tried the drunken noodles, tom kha soup, fried rice and tofu. Everything was yummy. The boba tea is a must try.

Starbucks Roastery

If you have seen the video of Starbucks roasting coffee beans inside a big store in Seattle, this is the store you want to visit. It looks like a lab or a factory where coffee beans go into a roaster and come out as filtered coffee. The coffee selection is overwhelming and so is the gift shop. Our next stop was a walk to the

Pike Market and Gum wall

A very strange market which sells mostly seafood, flowers, fruits vegetables and old things like hats, clothes, souvenirs etc on the ground floor. At the end of this market is the gum wall. The worst and gross thing we ever saw anywhere. I was really put off by the amount of homeless people in the city. The immediate thought of being mugged was unpleasing.

Chihuly Gardens and Space Needle

A must must visit place. The art of making glass could not be more beautiful and meaningful. Dale Chihuly is the pioneer of glass industry and all his work is displayed in the most exquisite manner. I had seen one of his installations in Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The view of Space Needle from the gardens is breathtaking.

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Seattle is a city of pine trees and beautiful nature but at the same time has the biggest technology company headquarters. But in all, we enjoyed our time exploring the city.

This was our last stop in United States of America road trip. For more on this road trip, you can read here. Stay tuned to read about our next destination on our Around the world tour! Also do check our Instagram account for latest updates.

    Seattle in a day! The city of Seattle, the biggest city of Washington state, it does live up to its hype.

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A bit of Narnia, a dash of Twilight, the land of La La; California is lot more than Los Angeles. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoyed LA in 2017 thoroughly and you can read all about it here. Today, I will be sharing how to spend two weeks in California.

Day 1 – 4 San Jose + San Francisco

We entered the beautiful state of California through the Death Valley while driving from Nevada. We did the National Parks as mentioned in my previous blog. From Yosemite we drove to San Jose or should I say the home of Silicon Valley. Me and Jay are huge fans of the show and were very excited to visit this place. There is not much to do in San Jose unless you want to visit the Stanford University Campus. It will take a day trust me it is big. We chose to stay in Mountain View and Santa Clara because we were meeting family and friends. One of my friend took us to this amazing point on a hill called Sierra Vista from where you can see almost entire San Jose. And recommended Indian Buffet for $10 per person. Also during our stay in San Jose, we did a day of sight seeing in San Francisco.

View from Sierra Vista

Yes San Francisco in a day

We drove from San Jose after the office traffic was clear. (It is really bad sometimes takes 2 – 3 hours for an hours journey.) First stop, Lombard street. We drove through it and the amount of tourists at this place was enormous. The next stop Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. The best view of Acrata jail and the sea lions was from the deck of Pier 39. There is a lot of touristy shops and restaurants here. We really enjoyed a meal in Boudin which was a chowder. They have a vegetarian option with Tomatoes. It was also interesting to see how they make different styles of bread from the store window. From there we walked to The Ghirardelli Square and enjoyed a chocolate sundae dessert at the Original Ghirardelli shop. Last stop was the Golden Gate and again we choose to drive through it. The experience of looking at huge metal bars stuck to each other in a distinct pattern was breathtaking. The weather was very foggy but it made everything more dreamy. We still had time left to do sme shopping and grab dinner at Stonestown Galleria.

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Day 5 – 7 Sonoma

A small little town just an hour away from San Jose and on the route to Lake Tahoe. We stayed in the most cute hotel Sonoma Creek Inn and enjoyed the town stroll in the evening.

Day 8 – 10 Lake Tahoe

From San Jose, we drove to south of Lake Tahoe and reached just in time to enjoy the Lakeside Beach (we were given free access with our stay as this is a private beach). The water was so clear and beautiful. There are a lot of water sport activities like jets, kayaks, paragliding etc. Or you could just relax by the beach and read a book. We choose to drive to Cave rock for Sunset and it was beautiful. More details are here.

Day 11- 12 Redding

A small town in the middle of California is underrated. By now national highway i5 had become our best friend. The roads in USA are wider than anywhere in the world and driving is much easier on the motorways. We caught the sunset at the Sundial Bridge after a short drive to the outskirts of Redding. If you have time, please go to Mt Shasta. Unfortunately we could not go as we had to continue driving to reach Seattle. We had dinner at a place called Cheesecakes Unlimited and it was refreshingly surprising. The best hot minestrone soup and fresh baked bread we had so far along with yummy cheesecake.

  Day 13 – 15 Redwoods National Park

I have written in detail about this in USA National Parks post.  We stayed in Arcata, a small town before the National Park starts. We did manage to find an Indian Restaurant which does unlimited buffet for $12 per person for lunch. The Holly Yashi store was an extraordinary treat and a cherry on the topping. Even if you are not a jewellery person, do visit the store to appreciate craftsmanship. They also do studio tours and you can book them in advance on their website.

We left California to drive into Oregon after Redwoods. The State has a lot to offer and we really enjoyed the warmth of the people wherever we went. A lot of national parks makes it more appealing to hikers and adventure enthusiasts, cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles attract families while scenic motorways encourage travellers like us to drive through the entire state.

Keep reading our blog to find out about our Journey from Phoenix, Arizona to Seattle, Washington in our future posts. Also do check our instagram page for regular updates. Till then keep travelling!

2 weeks in California A bit of Narnia, a dash of Twilight, the land of La La; California is lot more than Los Angeles.

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“The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.” – Henry David Thoreau

A view from Bishop, California

We absolutely loved the road trip of covering various National Parks in the mainland USA. There is so much untouched beauty. At first me and Jay were skeptical about doing national parks as we are not very athletic people. But the experience was unbelievable and one of its kind. This was part of our road trip across USA from Phoenix to Seattle and we are glad we did it. The first National Park was the Glen Canyon which I wrote in detail in my previous post. You can read it here.

Inyo National Park

As we were driving from Vegas to Yosemite National Park, we had to take a night stay before we reach Yosemite. I came across this small town called Bishop through Booking.com while finding accomodations and found the one. Just an hour away from Yosemite this was an ideal stop at the border of the National Park. Later we found out that it is inside another National Park called Inyo National Park. An ideal place for hiking, fishing, biking, and any adventure activity you can think of. The most favourite of ours was Mammoth Lakes. It is out of this world and the pictures speak for themselves. There are quite a few lakes, we choose to visit Twin Lakes as it was easy drive and on route to Yosemite.

Twin Lakes

Mammoth Lakes

Twin Lakes

The next stop was Lee Vining Lakes. This is just outside one of the entrances of Yosemite National Park. The views are breathtaking. The great thing is there are parking areas near all the viewpoints. Also there are signs and boards explaining the place, its history and directions.

Yosemite National Park

A week is less to explore this National Park. It is the only park we visited which required to buy an entry ticket. We bought the annual pass as we thought this was the best way to donate money to the park. All proceeds go towards maintaining the park. We were short on time so we spent a night in Bishop (at the border outside the park), a night inside the park in Yosemite View Lodge El Portal (amazing views of the Merced River) and one night in Yosemite Inn Mariposa (just an hour outside the park).

This gave us 3 days to explore the park. The first thing we did was to visit the Visitor Centre to understand the park and things to do in Yosemite. The staff was really helpful and gave us recommendations according to our requirements. This saved a lot of time figuring out what to do when. The sights to visit in the park are mostly located around the central parking which gets full pretty quickly in the morning (we drove 3 times at 9:30 am to find parking). But good thing is they have internal free shuttle that runs every 30 minutes and covers all the sights, trails, hiking spots in the park. As we are very new to the concept of hiking we were recommended the following sites by the visitor centre:

The Ahwahnee

The Ahwahnee is the most expensive place to stay inside Yosemite National Park. The view in the backyard of the oldest hotel in Yosemite National Park is just like a painting. The river is super cold but I had to dip my legs. We also saw a lot of squirrels here. The walk was exactly 10 minutes from the parking. Oh yea parking is free everywhere!

View from The Ahwahnee

Yosemite Falls

This 0.2 miles small hike to see the Yosemite Falls was just the start we needed to understand how to hike. The view of the falls is amazing. A lot of people were hiking further on the rocks to reach the bottom of the falls. However there are a lot of signs saying to not do this as the rocks might move. Also the water evaporates in late August as the temperatures rise.

Mirror Lakes

The next hike was Mirror Lakes of 0.8 miles. There are two routes to reach the top. One is an adventurous climb through rocks and forest. The other is a concrete road.We climbed through the forest as it was fun and enjoyable. We saw a few butterflies on our way up. The lakes also have water in spring and start to dry out in summer because of the heat. More than the view the accomplishment of reaching the top was more rewarding. We took the concrete route to walk down as it was all downhill and easy.

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Apart from these, there are a few viewpoints where you can drive and park your car. The valley view was breathtaking and unique. Even getting around inside the park was very scenic.

Sierra forests

While driving out of Yosemite National Park towards Mariposa, we drove through Sierra forests. Very similar scenery as Yosemite, these forests have a lot of Picnic spots to enjoy a family day by the Merced river.

Lake Tahoe

Situated in between Eldorado National Forest and Tahoe National Forest, this place is a blue bowl surrounded by green mountains. The colour of the lake is just mesmerising. We stayed in South Lake as we drove from San Jose. To our surprise, we were given a free access to a private beach called Lakeside Beach. The town is small and has two big casinos (because Nevada has to have a casino). We could not do any activity as you need to book them in advance especially clear bottom kayaks. Nonetheless the sunset from Cave Rock was out of this world. We drove through a giant rock which was carved to make the road. Next day we drove to the Sand Harbour beach which was really crowded and a full car park.

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Redwood National Park

As we drove towards Seattle, the next stop was in Arcata near Redwood National Park. This place is so unique that it is overwhelming. The Redwood Trees are probably 10 to 12 feet in general (probably 3 times of me). These trees need fire to regenerate themselves after they burn and a new trees is grown, almost like reincarnation. The trees also get most of their food from the moisture in the fog. There are few spots where you can hug the trees and take pictures near the Big Tree which is the oldest one in the forest. We also drove to the scenic point which was extraordinary.

We wish we had more time to explore other National Parks like Yellowstone, Shasta- Trinity, Lassen, Death Valley etc. But trust me when I say this, United States of America has amazing natural beauty, as I was not convinced of spending a week and ended up spending a month exploring the country. People are very polite and helpful which makes the experience of travelling more enjoyable. Only thing I wished could be better was the tipping system and the taxes. Nevertheless, we really enjoyed the nature in USA and became quite active.

USA National Parks "The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready." - Henry David Thoreau

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Can-y-on

If I can you sure can see the Grand Canyon, see it from far or close, up or down. Grand Canyon is beautiful but this article is more about which Grand Canyon to visit and how to pick which way.

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Mi-am-i

Known for its beaches, party crazy Ocean drive and Cuban culture, Miami is very unique compared to other places in the United States of America.

You feel like you are in America but at the same time not. I was surprised by what I really enjoyed in Miami was not the South Beach and you will know after reading along.

Miami has been the trickiest destination that I have travelled to so far. This…

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Flights decoded!

Yes we know how hard it is to save up for travelling and most of it goes in buying flights. Flying is not cheap and not always easy. Finding the right flights  to your destination can be tricky and time consuming. In this article we will take about myths, tricks and hacks about flying.

Booking Flight

Try different comparison websites like Kayak, Skyscanner, Google flights (you will be surprised),…

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What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

Walking in the dessert, playing in the casino, watching broadway shows or strolling on hotel lobbies you can find what you like here. Vegas is not just about gambling or partying and that is something I realised on the first day of arrival.

We arrived from LA as part of our 15 day travel across USA. Checked in at The Venetian was easy grand and luxurious. It is a city in itself. If you don’t have a map, you might get lost. It has a casino, lobbies, restaurants, a river with gondolas, bakeries, almost all of the worlds luxury brand stores and yes rooms to stay.  The good part is that there is a security desk before the lifts to go up to the room.

Getting there

You could fly but we were adventurous to take the $20 Greyhound bus from LA downtown to Las Vegas. The bus breaks down everytime it drives through death valley because of brakes heating. But regular travellers said it is normal and the bus still reached in time to vegas.

Stay

We stayed at The Venetian, The rooms are spacious, speaks luxury and relaxing at the same time. There is a separate seating area, study area, sleeping area and a very big bathroom. The bathroom had a dressing area, separate toilet, a bath and a huge mirror. I know too many details but I really enjoyed the stay. Dinner at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, breakfast at Grand Lux cafe, lunch at El Segundo Sol and dessert at Sugar Factory is the perfect food coma you want on a holiday to vegas. We also stayed a night in The Palazzo which is owned by the same company as The Venetian. Except for the lobbies and decor, everything is same in this hotel. The rooms at both these hotels are identical.

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Things to do in Vegas

The Strip

The drama happens here. All the famous hotels are here. All the touristy crowd is here. Taking a stroll in the evening on the strip, enjoying the Bellagio fountain, watching tourists take pictures was a lot of fun.

2. The Pawn Store

Even if you have watched the Pawn Stars, it is a unique place to visit this place. It has a lot of quirky things, antiques, some silver and a lot of jewellery. You can buy them and also souvenirs from the show.

3. The World’s Biggest Gift shop

It keeps true to its name. It is built in a semi circle like shops filled with so many random souvenirs, clothes, gifts, elvis souvenirs, jewellery, crockery, household items, I don’t even remember a lot of it. Not for everyone but I am sure you will find something.

4. Old vegas

Not so old, this part of vegas is very lively. The freemount street zipline, ennumerous small casinos, live music and dancing. Old nugget is one of the must visit places here for how old it is. Also if you are not too much onto gambling but want to try your luck, go to different casinos on this street as the minimum bets are between $5 to $10 compared to $20/$50 on the stirp.

5. Flamingos

Yes there are real flamingos inside The Flamingo hotel. I know right. But yes if you like flamingos, you will enjoy it.

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Transportation

We generally travelled in Uber or Lyft pool around the city. Walking is something very difficult because of the heat. In september 2017, it was around 35 degree celsius and that was scorching. Public transport is not so common. So we just took cabs. Also Lyft is cheaper than Uber in states.

So hope you enjoy Vegas. Don’t drink and drive. Be safe!

Las Vegas What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas! Walking in the dessert, playing in the casino, watching broadway shows or strolling on hotel lobbies you can find what you like here.

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It is only 3 hours away from London which is not the only positive thing. The scenery the greenery the landscape and the stars, its all very picturesque.

So we went to South Petherton, Somerset for a 2 night stay in Airbnb. The drive from London to Longleat National Park was via the Stonehenge. and  It is supposedly the number one national park in UK and the price of entry says it all. It is £35 per person to enter in the park. So we ended up hiking up a small hill nearby instead and the view was amazing. You would agree in the pictures.

The final destination was the Airbnb which was situated near the town centre.

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The Airbnb guy helped us with a few recommendations of where to go what to see.We also had to do shopping for food so the nearest big Tesco was 15 minutes drive which was not too bad. The place had a wood fire which was fun while we played board games.

The next day was chilled as we went for a walk around the town and nearby hills.

South Petherton

There were a lot of public paths to follow which led to pretty roads. After a big English breakfast, we headed to another town 45 minutes away called Tull to see a waterfall. The problem was every major attractions nearby were shut as it was a Sunday. The walk to the waterfall was short and you could go down near the fall. Luckily a pub was open to have tea/coffee. From there the next stop was Ham Hill which was famous for the view and sunset. It was indeed pretty and beautiful. We had dinner at a pub nearby which I would not recommend at all. It was horrible food and service.

Tull Waterfall

The checkout at the bnb was 10 am so we left for Dorset. The first stop was beach where the water was greenish blue. People were riding yacht, bird watching, kids playing. It was nice weather as well, just enough to have Mr Whippy. The next destination was Jurassic Coast. This is known to be a World Heritage site because of the fossils found in this region. It was an easish climb down to the beach where you can see the Durdle door. It is a stony beach so lucky we had a thick picnic blanket. The hike up was a nightmare. It did not help when it got windy to control the breathing. But it is worth for the view. Also strangely lucky there was no traffic on the way back to London.

Just a few things to keep in mind if you are going for bank holiday weekend is traffic. Make sure you check google maps or waze to know the estimated travel time. Hope you enjoy the trip and do share your experiences.

Somerset to Dorset It is only 3 hours away from London which is not the only positive thing. The scenery the greenery the landscape and the stars, its all very picturesque.

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What I learned from my Ireland Road Trip Wish I could do this some day!

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Resolution

There is nothing to resolve as I don’t see any wrong being what I am and doing what I do but things tend to change around me and within me now thinking what should I do

Everything was calm and quiet till I wanted to progress become someone achieve something the race is too crowded now contemplating what should I do

The struggle is real the fight is not easy trying the best of my abilities using…

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Finding YOU

An emotion widely exploited

sometimes for the right,

sometimes for the wrong

just wish love was appreciated

just wish it was easily shared

sometimes I see it in me

and then I tried to find it in you

wondering if this is what I dreamed

that happiness when you cared

“are you alright?” when you asked

every time in my eyes you stared

let me flee like a bird, you never caged

in all your acts, I could…