I was the only one
Who you never taught to fish
Because I didn't want to learn
That weekend we were at the lake
It was your 80th birthday
And I said
Maybe next time
Not knowing
That there wouldn't be a next time
But that weekend was still my favorite
At the top of the list
Of all of the weekends I've ever had
Because I spent it outside
With the people whose blood would match mine
If they were to fall
On those stone steps
That look like God put them there himself
Surrounded by the most beautiful trees
Leading to the shimmering blue bowl
That He drinks from in the summer
In the blistering heat
You wouldn't say so
That He created this masterpiece
Now engraved at the front of my memory
But you called to the birds
Because you knew they would answer
And you swam in the bowl
Because you knew it would be cooler than the thick summer air
And you cast out your line
To see if the fish would come
And they did
But only to you
God speaks to those who will listen
And the fish come to those who know how to call them
Because the water and the forest and the fields and the sky
Were your church
And you prayed with your hands
When you tied the line
And whittled the wood
And you thanked with your eyes
When you watched the birds
And admired the trees
And you spread the Word
When you sang back to the insects
And called to the animals
As if you knew what you were saying to them
You came alive in nature
And it came alive with you
Not once did you complain
About the heat
Or the cold
Or the bugs
Or the waves
Or the weeds
Or the storms
You knew what would happen
And that it could not be controlled
Because nature had a plan
And that plan meant taking you
Earlier than we had liked
But not too early
For you lived your life completely
And now you are one with the earth
Perhaps Mother Nature
Did give birth to you
And now the breeze I smell
And the sun I see
And the birds I hear
And the grass I feel
Is you
You might not have taught me to call the fish
But you taught me to never stand with my back to the ocean
So it would not push me down
If you stand with your back to the ocean
You cannot see the waves
Breaking in their strength and glory
They will beg for your attention
Look at me
They cry
Look to the horizon
Going on forever
Watch the sun set
Watch the light slip away
There is darkness in this world
Face it, head on
Watch the stars start to shine
Your little pieces of light
Look for the moon
Almost as bright as the sun
Watch the sun set
Because tomorrow, it will rise
Jun 7, 2014
Jun 7, 2014 at 4:57 PM UTC
**This land, where we can roam free
Boundaries have been set up
Mapped by the pen of a cartographer
Continents drifted apart, tectonic shifts
Ripping across the land mass
The mightiest of mountains turned to rubble
Giving rise to new landmarks
The fury spewing fire, the molten lava
Created fissures along the ground
Rivers of fire flowing across the veins of Earth
Resentment of nature marched to new frontiers
Earth transformed itself, to a new avatar
New landscapes and greenery adorned it
In the coronation ceremony of the usurper
Commandeering life - forms to a new future
We are living that dream for centuries
Without an inkling of the next rebellion**
© Amitav (Radiance)
Jun 7, 2014
Jun 7, 2014 at 4:56 PM UTC
She was as delicate,
as a flower.
But with time, all her beautiful petals,
had fallen off because of her sadness.
He left, her bestfriend left,
All her leaves, weren't green,
Anymore.
She broke a little inside;
Slowly, with time,
The delicate, beautiful,
flower, died.
She was Orphic.
Jun 7, 2014
Jun 7, 2014 at 4:56 PM UTC
It is beautiful
When the sky
is the only roof
You have left.
Jun 7, 2014
Jun 7, 2014 at 4:56 PM UTC
I hear the cries emanating from your words
Every letter of every sentence is a story
that only your broken heart can tell.
The longing for peace inside
brings chaos within your cracked bones
I hope that honey starts to drip
out of your scars instead of blood.
The thoughts spinning in your mind
now resemble the whorls in outer space
galaxies of decisions to take
follow the path of stars that lie in your heart.
I know how hard it is to open your eyes
face the world
and live behind your insecurities
let your skin jump from excitement
not from fear that causes constriction of yourself.
You haven't failed yourself
when you chose silence over speech
these pens have screamed louder than anything
one day they will hurt those who wounded you
so that the guilt inside
will keep them awake night after night,
I will continue to pray for you.
Soft heart and lips,
skin like pillows
chest a haven for whoever
is privileged enough
to find comfort in it
don't let the harsh days
blister the frame
that holds you, the artwork, together.
Allow these poems to rebuild you
so that you realize that homes out of people
burn faster than gasoline on fire
and that the paradise you crafted
out of your bathroom floor
corners of busy rooms
tears on scratched paper
and wrinkles on your tired forehead
is the one that will revive you forever.
Stay strong.
Jun 7, 2014
Jun 7, 2014 at 4:56 PM UTC
I strive to be…
a transcendent being…
armed with fearless questioning
powered by
Love and light.
A transcendent being
...is not lead by ploys
to keep the world separated.
..does not judge others
In order to feel better
about themselves.
A transcendent being
is comfortable in their own skin...
therefore …
ego and envy
are taken out of the mix...
A transcendent being
sees through fearless eyes
the beauty of the rest of the world,
A transcendent being
carries with them
their own personal joy…
excited by possibilities and purpose
their world becomes full of adventure.
Problems do not disappear…
They simply become a challenge
Fueled by what could be
inspired by justice
distributed with integrity.
Without fears…
transcendent beings see
what is truly needed…
… a system designed with
the realities of the present
and accommodations
that are handed out justly…
distributed with intregrity.
Ushering out "should's"
And “should not’s”
Replaced with more…
fearless compassion...
and why not's.
Imagine then...
what you would change...
and join me in striving
To be a Transcedent Being.
Jun 7, 2014
Jun 7, 2014 at 4:55 PM UTC
There exists
such a distorted need
to be inflexible and stagnant
Not allowing change...
Dangerously
Coming close to becoming
a "caricature of our former glorious selves"
How sad...
that it happens…
but even worse …
that it still does not
ignite change.
It must be agonizing
To be driven by the fear
of appearing weak
or too radical
or loosing perceived powers
or social placements.
Suffering through spiritual implosion
dreading condescension
or rejection.
By peers
let alone
From a creator
That they barely believe in…
I wish there was
really
something I could do
to help.
Jun 7, 2014
Jun 7, 2014 at 4:55 PM UTC
I feel like the light is always on in our closet
Like someone recently decided who they wanted to be today
Or they are keeping it ready
In case they change their mind
Jun 7, 2014
Jun 7, 2014 at 4:54 PM UTC
I climbed into bed,
dizzy from the drinks
and the dancing
and the fun
Staring at the darkness,
Is this the ceiling or the wall?
I feel the air between my teeth
They are not pressed together
I think to myself,
*How sad is it,
that I need to go to bed
with ***** for blood
so as not to feel the weight
piling on my bones?*
I am not the girl I used to be--
I used to wipe away worry
like a foggy mirror,
but now my stomach
is in a permanent knot
and my skin is soaking wet
from the stress shower I have taken
and it won't seem to dry
My mother laughed at me
when I said the word
Desserts has always come out
but now I'm speaking backwards
I am not your daughter
Jun 7, 2014
Jun 7, 2014 at 4:54 PM UTC