Thursday 28 May 2015

Dusty and unscheduled and unlit



Lately, I have given up forced schedules -
of voices and gravity, unbroken rules
governing when the windows might open,
when they must shut, when words must be spoken,
a life of finite couplets and modules.


I’ve let the door stand ajar in dust-storms
I’ve piped in dreams of sand and low landforms,
orchestras of fallen leaves, autumn-coloured.
Led merry festivals of haphazard
words into worlds far away from their homes.


And I’ve also let my voice go back to sleep -
the freedom that’s in silence is for keeps,
and when it’s finally woken up again,
I’ve asked it to hold its breath and just listen
to chuckling rivers, to candles as they weep.


The winds have blown out my lamps, and unlit
they stood for whole Diwalis, not just minutes.
Their darkness and their beauty were unsurpassed.
Forget small flames, even stars do not last.
I’ve come across a darkness that’s infinite.



If you’ve stopped here by chance and wondered why
the door’s unlatched, the golden dust’s knee-high -
well, now you know the reason: I’m not absent
I am only doing what I was meant
to do: be still and let all things pass by.




11 comments:

  1. Words and thoughts will written, giving us room to not only read but feel them.


    Rules controlling suffocating our lives
    Yet live is not rules but things changing
    Moving about us here and there
    as does the wind around us

    If we try we can find a whole new world
    We were once blinded to by our own sight
    pitch into darkness. We have yet to hear
    because we’re telling ourselves not to listen

    Few will give the time or want to know
    what they have missed as they blindly follow.
    Others will step back close their eyes
    and understand a new world of life

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    1. 'We were once blinded by our own sight'...spot on. Nothing as distracting as the light shined into our eyes. Too much light is as blinding as darkness, and far less comforting.

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  2. Nice lines NIlanjana,very deep and meaningful.

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    1. My entire life more or less has been spent in trying to catch the meanings in the dust :-) thanks for reading Nima, hope all is well.

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  3. Sometimes it's better to just go silent or sleep.
    In our house, dust means no one has cleaned in a while.

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    Replies
    1. That is the final meaning here too :) no getting away from cleaning...and a nap is refreshing always..thanks for stopping by.

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  4. Hi Nila

    I'm so glad your door's unlatched and you let us in! Thought provoking as always.

    Denise :-)

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    1. For you Denise, the door's not unlatched, it's wide open, always :-)

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  5. The sense of spontaneity really captured my attention.
    Love these lines: "led merry festivals of haphazard
    words into worlds far away from their homes..."
    Wonderful Nila!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Michelle. Image of a Mary Poppins-Pied Piper hybrid with words trailing behind her :)

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    2. Yes! Perfect image. Love it!

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