The Yearning of Words

Your words pile on mine -

          the way on warm afternoons 

          your body lazes on mine -

till our sentences mesh,

and I can’t distinguish 

yours from mine -

          the way I turn, and you 

          fold into me with a sigh -

and your voice and mine -

          and your body and mine -

are indistinguishable in syntax 

          and in breath,

and just like that a love poem -

          a love story -

is born. 

Photo is a grab from a Aanchal Anita Dhara video

---

I love this poem (of mine)!! It’s one of those poems which have to be read not read aloud. The way it is laid out, the way the words interweave their duality, till they reach their conjoined moment, it is - in my mind - words doing calisthenics - but in a rather fetching way!!!

And this is the thing which I encounter ever so often in poetry soirees - poets reading out gorgeous poetry which demands to be read quietly, slowly, silently - and not aloud. And the inevitable happens - nobody gets it, and the audience drifts.

It’s a strange dichotomous world we are living in - more people are writing poetry and less are listening to it. And one very important factor is the poetry chosen to be read.

Some of the most celebrated poets are often the ones who bore you to death when they start reciting. Because their poetry is gorgeous, yes, but also dense, allegorical, intellectual, and definitely not the kind which the listener would get in the two to five minutes it takes to recite it.

I am also guilty of slipping in very personal allusions and metaphors into my poetry - but I (largely) ensure it remains on paper and doesn’t make its way into my podcast Uncut Poetry or inflicted on my poor unsuspecting audience!

Here are some poems I love reciting because of the stories they tell, or the simple profundity of their thought (even though I myself say it)! Do give them a listen. And let me know your thoughts.

Come When The Heat of Noon Has Still Not Dimmed

Lose a Lover Not a Friend

Memory Keeper

---

Pass the following forward - love, a lil’ appreciation, your big heart - and this substack :)

---