Wednesday 18 October 2017

The Darkest Place : Write... Edit... Publish... October 2017



Okay so I thought I could do a flash - a spooky sort, but nope, it vanished into thin air like...um...a ghost. Then I started with another which coolly wriggled out of its obligation towards the original prompt. Inveigled itself into a thoroughly non-spooky type - aaaargh! Right, I'm falling back on poetry, much more reliable... 


So here we are - at the annual autumn/spring scarefest at Write...Edit...Publish... hosted by authors Denise and Yolanda. With design inputs from Olga, and prompt inputs by someone who has been hoisted by her own promptard and shall remain nameless.  


We have a prayer in the Hindu scriptures, one of my favourite verses - '(Lead me) from falsehood towards Truth, from darkness towards Light, from death towards Immortality.'


Darkness and Light, Anxiety and Tranquility, Suffering and Bliss. All is in the mind, ultimately. No place darker than a tormented mind.




The Darkest Place


This isn’t a poem you’d want to write.
No morning pills of positivity,
just a convulsed line rushing, falling free
in and out of digital screens and sight,

dripping fluids of unknown origins.
No trickles of moons, rivers, women’s scarves,
not an inch of no man’s land between wars.
A trembling drop in time’s sharp toothed engines.

Nor is it a poem you’d want to read
out loud among strangers, folding paper
art, to hang it like buntings of wafer
thin, lavish rhymes; jewel toned; filigreed.

This - the one you keep in the dark recess,
between the planes of sane and loneliness.




WC - 100+
FCA




And it is Diwali tomorrow, the darkest night of the year according to the Indian calendar, when we put up lamps around our homes to make sure that everything's headed in the right direction, as per the verse! :)  A very happy and prosperous Diwali to you and yours if you are celebrating! And lots of sunshine, moonlight, starlight and candlelight to you even if you are not. May your life be illuminated at all times and never get into dark places.




***


Read the other entries here and join in -

36 comments:

  1. Love this. Such tortured, tormented imagry. The recess between sane and loneliness is often only whisker thin. And too easily crossed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whisker thin and easily crossed. Truer words never spoken/written!

      Delete
  2. Enjoyed your poem, I can all too well relate to loneliness, not a pleasant state to be in.

    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most unpleasant indeed. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks!

      Delete
  3. some times it's best to write the thoughts, push them into the recesses of a desk and the mind, and then seek some light. Excellent poem for this theme. I've read some good work all around

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh I am always pushing stuff into recesses...but probably forgetting to seek the light afterwards :) Thanks so much for the support.

      Delete
  4. Hm. I somehow feel that the poem itself, and not the author, is introspective.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gosh, not enough matter in the upper storey to go introspecting and things like that! Serious stuff, introspecting. Not my cup of tea at all :)

      Delete
  5. Yet I do read
    In no dark corners
    will it hide
    Still in
    the darknest
    corners of my mine
    it hide in wait
    to remind me of you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So good to see you here.

      Ya, we never know what remains hidden in the dark corners of the mind. And most of it usually bobs up at the most inopportune times too.

      Delete
  6. The worst is when darkness and loneliness exists in well lit rooms crowded with souls. You've answered the prompt (your prompt) beautifully no falling down here. You went with your strength. A very wise decision!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The crowded-rooms type of loneliness is the worst kind of ghastly. Half the world's problems stem from people being lonely like that.

      Delete
    2. Yes, alone in a crowd is painful. And it's a sad fact of life for some extreme introverts like me. I've always felt alone in any company. Internet was a savior. Finally I can participate... at least somewhat. Nila, your poem nailed it.

      Delete
  7. Hi Nila
    I have suffered from all sorts of dark rooms. I heard it said once that our minds consisted of many rooms. I think that might be true. I am currently working on a fantasy that incorporates a lot of Asian beliefs. I have a country in the world I built that is more like India. I might have to feature that country in another story. I enjoyed your poem.
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your comment reminded me of Poe's The Masque of Red Death - where the seven rooms are the seven stages of man. Certainly the mind has many rooms, and they change according to the circumstances and the stage of life, accommodate both the inner and outer environments.

      Glad you enjoyed the poem. Good luck with the story. Eastern societies have a huge range of beliefs - lots to choose from!

      Delete
  8. Hi Nila - I see dark rooms near me and with others ... I'm just lucky that I don't slip into the cracks, but am able to hold the positivity ...

    Have a very happy Diwali - let us bring peace to all in a less dark world ... cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Hilary for the Diwali wishes! Fortunately I don't have dark rooms anywhere close, very lucky that way. My dark rooms are all imaginary.

      You are a beacon of positivity in blogland, thank you for that too.

      Delete
  9. I enjoy reading your poetry. To be honest, I don't like dark rooms and the darkness in others I avoid.
    Shalom aleichem,
    Pat Garcia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, me too. Physical spaces and darkness don't upset me, I like a bit of dark from time to time, too much light pollution around me in fact...But mental dark rooms are scary and I keep as far away as I can.

      Delete
  10. I love your poem, especially the last couple of lines - so true.

    ReplyDelete
  11. In such lines can sink, never being released and leaving one in such a state even when all are around.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I loved the poem and especially the imagery of the convulsed line rushing, falling free. You have such a gift with words.
    Happy Diwali to you!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the wishes! Glad you enjoyed the poem.

      Delete
  13. We all have those dark places and your poem gives voice to them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I keep mine firmly locked with a no entry sign on the doors :)

      Delete
  14. Dark Places has revealed those deep, dark places, hasn't it Nila? You've given us a tiny glimpse into dark rooms here. I'm glad you stayed with poetry. Not so many this month and you're a pro.


    This - the one you keep in the dark recess,
    between the planes of sane and loneliness.

    Thanks Nila.

    Denise :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, pretty dark the posts this month :) which is great. Some good solid Halloweeny stuff. Lack of poem entries? no worries, can totally live with that :) :)

      Delete
  15. Great poem, lots of meanings. Some people suffer from those dark places and struggle to get free.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Too many people struggle alone. Mental conditions/diseases still stigmatised where I come from, and therefore difficult to treat.

      Delete
  16. Thank you, I'm not fond of dark places. Love the lush words you choose. Hope your Diwali was a great celebration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. or rather, hope the lights did their job of protection. . .

      Delete
    2. Me neither. I like dark nights in open places, which is starlight really, never 100% dark. Real dark would scare me witless!

      I had a lovely Diwali, thank you for your wishes, DG.

      Delete