The Cafes aromatic ambience Prompts the mind to reminiscence Beyond the stress and strifes seizure Rests the pleasure of leisure Evenings a plenty spent here With my daughter and son dear The heady aroma emanates While brewing nostalgia stimulates

When relics from the past creep in and threaten the fulcrum of his survival, what would be the price Chika is willing to pay? Desiderium is a book that explores the diverse themes of love, family, socio-economic dilemma, and abuse while letting your mind feast on endless imaginations.

Everyone has demons. What are yours? Voices spoke to him so he listened and started writing to tell their stories to the world. It is written by a man with a broken heart and internal struggles but you will be gravely mistaken to think it is about a young heart whining for love. The verses are from the depths of a soul. A soul is eternal, hence these words. This man seeks meaning behind life. If happiness is all you seek this book is not for you. This book has secrets you wish you knew. But can you bear the burden that comes with knowing? Read what the author has to say about the book. Our experiences help to shape our outlook towards the universe. The mind savage by birth, fed with negativities it grows into a hideous creature. The world outside may not always be pleasant so we must contemplate what we see and feel to understand the complex truth of this cosmos. I do not deny that the world we live in is free of the darkness, brutality and injustice. I believe, with the knowledge of harsh truth comes equanimity. This is my attempt to give a little meaning to the agonies and burdens we share. It might appear meaningless to some but so is this world. This book is a collection of poems for you but not for me. These are my reflections on love and life. These are my critiques on man and society. These are my views on misery and faith. These words are voices from my soul. -Preface

How much can a person lose before she is no longer herself? Memories fade, but when they’re ripped from your mind, they leave a gaping hole. That empty cavity tugs and threatens to swallow me up; its edges erode away as my mind picks at it like a week-old scab. On a journey to find lost memories, travel to a reality where lost things go: a world of misplaced treasures and things best forgotten. Dangers lurk in the dark, and lost hopes light the way. Welcome to Desiderium.

We, humans, are simple creatures. We want to be understood and recognized, if none, our existence to benefit mankind. One faces struggles and gets broken and twisted, but the urge to get back on one’s feet keeps one alive. If I have to speak honestly, I did not go through much; there is more to the bumpy road. But I have lost many things, and I long to have them. I crave stuff despite the truth spiraling in front of me—One cannot have everything, and at times nothing. I had no such thought to pen these down, but I am glad I did it. I have many happy memories and notable people around me, and I wish to have such people stay with me. And the ones yet to come or gone away, I long for them. Sometimes I walk to and fro between past and present; the boundary is thin, at times invisible. I struggle to find the middle ground, but I will keep trying. Before it, I will be in chaos, losing myself, getting twisted, and recovering.

Desiderium: a feeling of longing, of loss or grief for something lost. Each life has its own story, painted with different shades of all sorts of colours. People come and go, as does the memories and emotions along with them. In what ways do you cope? How often do you take your life in your own hands? Would it end up in a story you're proud of?