The Tragedy of Seeing Life as a Broken Enterprise
Adrienne Rich said - Poetry can break open locked chambers of possibility, restore numbed zones to feeling, recharge desire.
Indeed.
Poetry is Viagra for the soul.
We see the world through the lens of our brokenness. Every time our mirror cracks and pieces of us lie at our feet, we scream into the elements.
Much before we understand the potential of solace in the world's unflappability, we find symbols of intent and hurt.
We lie bruised and we see blood in the claws of the skies, our hearts crumble and we find the miscibility of dust as perfidious, the world grows intractable to our desires, and we have problems with the hard ground we walk on. Time and again we weep and see flooded rivers in our rivulets.
What is it about the world that we first see it as an opponent rather than a facilitator? What is it about nature that we ignore it’s nurturing and only sense it’s destruction.
As we walk through the fallen flowers of a storm’s aftermath, we could drown in the incessant floods of grief, or make our peace in the infinite tenderness of a sky which still glistens. And learn that light lies inside what might seem ruptured and torn.
The Poem
I am encircled with strange forebodings
of nights made of my own fears,
I could have listened to the breeze instead,
seeked messages from its plaintive pluck,
and found solace in its unhurried music.
Why do I have to crack myself open every morning
to let my skin feel the reality of a generous world?
Why does the universe need to prove itself with bruises
which open up with messages which I don't read.
.
I have sat beneath injured skies hearing
their weeping flow into hapless rivers,
and paid attention to only my illusions,
as if there was only one reality in the world -
and that also a lie I determined for myself.
.
Why do we complicate the nature of flowers,
even as they sway flawlessly on branches
unencumbered as they are with
either our memories of storms
or visions of a merciless autumn.
.
Maybe, maybe, I'm not ignited enough
to burn out visions of life which find fears
where I should have found the air to soar.
Hear the poem!
If you liked this poem, consider listening to these other poems on the complexities of life -
In the Darkness of Our Autobiographies
Who Do You Choose to Become When Alone?
The Complex Algorithms of Giving
Lovely poem and essay. Enjoyed reading and listening. Profound opening thoughts.....'Poetry restores numbed zones to feelings'. Something to ponder on.
It is true, the world is full of magic, it is your perception, what is in your mind, that creates your reality. Every pain brings us an opportunity for growth if only we are able to see it. As a poet once said, if the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear as it is....Infinite.