My Voice

my voice will be mine

and mine alone

rising from deep

of my bottomless heart

bearing with utmost tenderness

it will birth my words

and mine alone

218

Wise One

wise one, I know
your words mean well
but in my heart
a strange tree grows
watered by the molten moon
laden heavy with flowers white
roots go deep
into my soul

wise one, I know
your words mean well
but maddened by
the fragrance wild
like errant bees
my senses go
deeper and deeper
into that grove

wise one, I know
your words mean well
but they are only words
and cannot cure
this thirst
which now drives me insane
for the heady taste
of that nectar pure

217

Hold Me

hold me
in your arms 
and let us feel
soft beating of our mortal hearts
yet knowing well
love never ends
flows on and on
through time and space
through me and you 
an eternal river

hold me
in your arms
let us dissolve in tears
agony of ancient separations
illusions they were
we knew not then
the tree of love
grows roots which run
long and strong
deeper than deep
into the timeless heart
of the infinite One

216

Forest Blaze

losing you
I became a forest blaze
nothing nothing nothing
but you
a wailing wilderness
razed to ground

under the blackened broken earth
watered by a grieving rain
roots clung on to life and lived
in stubborn hope
of your return

215

Memories

I saw it by the wayside
painted Siberian crane
flash of white feathers
incongruous 
against the backdrop
of the dusty Indian village

as though
winging across thousands of miles
in pursuance of warmth
it had carried along memories
of a snowy homeland

like I
in my search for summer
carry winters with me

215

Tears

sometimes she fears
all the tears she never shed
one day will rise 
monsoon river in spate
flooding embankments
cracking walls
they will wash her away
in swollen rage

***************

her tears
wayward children
do not do her bidding
hide when she calls

and only they know the alchemy
which cracks frozen grief
and sends it coursing molten
down the way
of her eyes

214

Madman

from the high window
in my house of cards
fenced in by walls of sanity,
all rules forgotten
all shackles torn
I see the madman wandering free

214

This Is What You Have To Do

hey you
this is what you have to do
don't be heard, don't be seen
and with them, you have to be
embodiment of their desires
fulfillment of their fantasy
its they who have been born to be
whole humans, alive in vibrancy
not you, not you
so just go ahead and neutralize
all that in you which sings and cries
all that in you which soars high
you are there for them, don't you see?
you are there to be good company
so be a ghost
woman
be a ghost

213

wings

building the home
tending the young
girl, never forget
you have been given wings,
eagle's envy you are
and you are here
to soar, spiral and ride the winds,
along with warm coziness
of your little nest
you also own

shimmering, sweeping vastness
of open blue skies

212

pointing finger

I need no finger pointing
I seek no hoary tomes,
sick and tired I am
of being shown the way,
waits a fathomless well
within me
and all I need to do
is draw the sweetest water
and slake my ancient thirst

211

Night

she meets me
on my sleepless bed
with bagful of shadows
merciful night

she drowns in darkness
harsh brightness of day
held in refuge
of her still bosom
I make friends 
with lost sorrows

210

twelfth night

clasping to heart
her dwindling moon,
twelfth night of wane
in waxing shadows,
holds my weeping head
on her lap and soothes
me as I mourn
partings to come

209

madman

from the high window
in my house of cards
fenced in by walls of sanity,
all rules forgotten
all shackles torn
I see the madman wandering free

208