Nothing

Nothing

I have nothing to say about nothing
That masquerader , who needs
The very thing he negates

We open empty palms to say we have nothing
Even as we hold space
We examine hurting hearts , claiming we lost all
Even as we gather memories
We let go of past, pain ,declaring them to be nothing
Even as we gain strength, wisdom, experience
From the journey

Nothing gathers
Into his expansive fold
All negations

Yet like all polarities
Hand in hand with everything
Finds his refuge
In love

And serves his purpose
In declaring
Nothing else exists

--shubha

P.S. A few lines that came to me in response to a prompt on the topic nothing ,on an online poetry group, April 

Tracing memory

Tracing memory

Why try and trace the trajectory of a firefly?
Plot a graph of a relationship
As transitory as thought
Transient as us
Flickering, flaring , fading
Embers of memory
Why try to hold , evaluate, grade
Glint of golden shimmer
Evanescent

Except for those points ,
That is cemented in love
That leads us to love

What do we gain , tracing disintegrating plots
Of disappearing feeling
Over time ?
Except for those moments
Tacked into our hearts
By love

--shubha

I miss me

I miss me

I miss me
The me ,I was when we were us
The me, that spiraled around you
To dissolve , wisps of a self, smoke
Where neither you nor me were
Distinct from us

I miss me , that in losing itself,
Found me , a connection
That still tugs at snapped heart strings
A discordant note ,now
I miss, us

--shubha

P.S. Happy to share that this poem was awarded a place in a friendly competition on weekend theme of ,Anatomy of a breakup, on an online poetry group, April

Slow combustion

Slow combustion

Edged in flaming oranges
Red runs rivulets into green
Eagerly licking any residual resistance
To turn each leaf into a mottled
Love story of detachment,sacrifice

And fall lights each tree
Like a glowing sparkler
In celebration
Of slow combustion
Of the past
To ready for rest
And renewal


--shubha

P.S In response to a prompt on renewal on a online poetry group, The Woman Inc. Poetry project 

Composting

Composting

We trade in the residue
Of stale emotions
Spent , chewed out
Malodorous carcass
Of feelings
Well past
Their consumption date

Use this compost
To smear our lens
Of the world, black
Bitter poets ?
We are hawkers
Of curdled pain

And yet , with enough time
With enough patience
With the sprinkling of some love

Perhaps this compost
Of half digested truths
May help grow a flower
Of hope, of beauty
In the spent soil
Of another's mind


--shubha

P.S. Inspired by a searing poem titled Litany by Anu Mahadev , and old poem by my mother

I let go

I let go

Dressed in reds, oranges of mirth
I swirl , revel, in your coming, Mother
Or rather, my coming to you

With gratitude I offer
Fruits of this summer
Your love has blessed
Your bounty onto You

With understanding, I shed
In slow swirls
Flaming tongues of anger, passion, hate, despair
Browns of a withered past
That has outlived its' usefulness
To my growth

Swirl, by gentle swirl
I shed
By Your Grace
A little more of my i
A little more of the distance

Prepare for the serenity
Of tranquil rest
In the lap of Your name

With the promise
Of renewal
That come Spring
I will blossom
With your blessings
Spread Your fragrance
Dance with joy

I let go
Let go of all
But my faith
In Your everlasting love
In Your Mercy

--shubha

P.S. A few lines that came to me as a prayer  in response to a prompt on an online poetry group, The Woman Inc. Sharing on the occasion of VijayDashami

Dormant Volcanoes

Dormant Volcanoes

Read me once
Like the anticipation
Of a first kiss

Falteringly, shyly,achingly
Slowly, sweetly,longingly
Feverishly,impatiently, insatiably
Passionately, sensually, wonderingly
Tenderly, gently, tentatively
Lovingly

And then perhaps I will exhale
Let out this pent up longing
Surging through the recesses
Vents of long dormant emotions
And need to write no more

--shubha