-brian mendonca
The crescent moon
hangs low in the west
pegged on my clothesline of realities.
Venus follows in hot pursuit
as the potted plant
tugs at my rosary.
Twixt earth and heaven
Death and motion
Where is our place in the scheme of things?
Must we like dragonfly
dart beween loci,
or like the mute
attempt to scream our incoherance?
Does the kikar have the answer
evergreen in its fullness,
or the trough of fresh water
waiting for the bird?
Light incandescent
fills my being
Beyond the trees
the staircase hovers.
The act of writing
redeems the moment
To pause, to be still
in the sepia of voices.
Life is beauty
fineness and soul.
Ensnared in the kikar's branches
the now gold orb breaks free
in onward descent beyond the horizon.
For the duration of its journeying
it held me in thrall.
Its absence behoves
a return to the faith.
The value of living
is experienced in encounter
With oneself, the Heavens
the earth, the Spirit.
(2 November 2008
The crescent moon
hangs low in the west
pegged on my clothesline of realities.
Venus follows in hot pursuit
as the potted plant
tugs at my rosary.
Twixt earth and heaven
Death and motion
Where is our place in the scheme of things?
Must we like dragonfly
dart beween loci,
or like the mute
attempt to scream our incoherance?
Does the kikar have the answer
evergreen in its fullness,
or the trough of fresh water
waiting for the bird?
Light incandescent
fills my being
Beyond the trees
the staircase hovers.
The act of writing
redeems the moment
To pause, to be still
in the sepia of voices.
Life is beauty
fineness and soul.
Ensnared in the kikar's branches
the now gold orb breaks free
in onward descent beyond the horizon.
For the duration of its journeying
it held me in thrall.
Its absence behoves
a return to the faith.
The value of living
is experienced in encounter
With oneself, the Heavens
the earth, the Spirit.
(2 November 2008
All Souls Day
Sheikh Sarai, New Delhi)
Glossary
crescent:'... the meekness of the crescent / comforts not my soul' in an earlier poem 'Chariots of Fire'(2004)
Sheikh Sarai, New Delhi)
Glossary
crescent:'... the meekness of the crescent / comforts not my soul' in an earlier poem 'Chariots of Fire'(2004)
Venus: the planet Venus, the only star visible ot the human eye.
clothesline of realities: 'I caress the creases / on the shirt you gave me / checked in relief / on my clothesline of realities . . .' in 'Blue Checks' (1999)
clothesline of realities: 'I caress the creases / on the shirt you gave me / checked in relief / on my clothesline of realities . . .' in 'Blue Checks' (1999)
Photograph and note: Crescent over Varanasi (Courtesy Picasaweb).
I loved this photo since I had just read about the finer life of musician Alain Danielou (1907-94) who rented an old palace, Rewa Kothi, at the Assi Ghat, Varanasi and lived in India to study her ways. See Sangeet Natak vol. 42.1 (2008) Special issue on Alain Danielou (Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi).
Comments
death and motion / where's our place in the scheme of things......// value of living
is experienced in encounter /
with oneself.....' is beautiful. thnx fr givin it to us.