Sunday 8 August 2021

Umbrellas on my landing

 



When you can own your sorrow and can contain

it, you will come to realise that this rain

too is a boon - umbrellas on the landing,

this diffuse, lacklustre light like a curtain

 

of gossamer dark. The stairs where the old floor’s

pitted, the peeling paint on the walls and doors.

The soul knows to recreate its own housing

but it’s a blessing that it’s been here before.

 

The headlines are full of a lad called lotus

who’s bagged a gold. You’re too far gone to focus.

Immersed in a celebration of mourning

rain or gold, you’ve decided not to notice.

 

Tomorrow may be clear but you mayn’t be there

to witness wet umbrellas left at the stairs.






I'm back where I started out from twenty five years ago and I'm back here, writing. The relocation is going, well...as all relocations go - vaguely tumultuous and unendingly interesting, if you know what I mean. 

Everyday I miss the Arablands sorely, the beauty of the deserts, the quiet magnificence, the close knit sense of community, of hospitality. 

India is magnificent too in a different way, an 'unquiet' way, sometimes in a hilariously difficult way. It is a different kind of adventure. I'm not sure where it is going, but I'm determined that I'm going along with it.

And I'm going to be mindful and notice each day as it happens and if poetry happens then I'll hang it out here to dry.  Glad to be back and so very glad to be here finally! :)


9 comments:

  1. In my all too brief encounter with India magnificent in an unquiet, sometimes hilariously difficult way is an excellent description.
    I do hope that poetry DOES happen as you continue your mindful way.

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    1. Thank you! Poetry is a disease :) regular relapses are routine...

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  2. Just consider it a new adventure and take the rain with the shine.

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    1. After desert living, rain is definitely an adventure! Happy to take it anytime.

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  3. Hari OM
    ...you made me a little homesick for that ancient land! It is crazy - but in a peculiarly organised way. Many deep breaths now, as the settling settles... YAM xx

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    1. I am perma-homesick for places I've lived in or even passed through :) Settling will take some time, but that's a process to be enjoyed as well... hope you're doing well Yamini.

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  4. Happy you have landed safely and now are rediscovering your past, gathering new moments, and can reflect, write, and unpack. If nothing else, watch the Gene Kelly moment from "Singing in the Rain" and just splash your heart out. Take care my friend

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  5. Watching falling rain, whether gentle summer drops or winter spray, soothes me, mind and body. Your red umbrellas in the fairly lit hallway are mesmerizing; and they nicely complement your poetry while sheltering you from sorrow.

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  6. Hi Nila - lovely to read this and the comments ... "The soul knows to recreate its own housing" - it is certainly easier coming home - but adjustment too is needed.

    So much going on in the world - I go in and out ... and remember places near and far where I spent time in .... memories. Your ancestral memories for you ... bringing thoughts and words to the fore - letting your mind loose to dream its poems. All the best - Hilary

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