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Portia Burton Nov 2021
Sublime Presence

Here I stand among a throng of trees
Wrapped in dense and dark shadows,
And feel like standing silently
Under the dome of a green cathedral,
Drenched in irradiant silence.
I feel around me a sublime presence
Watching over me with love and care,
While the breeze fondles my curly hair.
I also feel some inaudible melody
Streaming all around, in the leaves,
In the blades of grass, nascent flowers,
And even in my overwhelmed heart!

© Portia Burton
Portia Burton Oct 2021
Granny

Granny,
It was you
who put away
my childhood 'walker'
and taught me how to walk,
fall ,
and walk again on my own...
It was you
who swirled around
like a ballerina
in  my school auditorium
when I played  a ballet dancer...
It was you
who lovingly
massaged my aching feet
after my mountain trek...
you could walk
only a few steps
holding my hand,
yet
there used to be so much joy
on your wrinkled face
as if all the paths of the world
were bowing down before you.
.....

Now
All I have is a quilt
made by you for me,
and though it is very old,
I still seek through it
your warm touch.

© Portia Burton
Portia Burton Oct 2021
Did I Cry? Why?

On waking up in the morning
I felt the smears of tears
across my cold cheeks,
with the gory image
of the last evening
of a sparrow killed
by the neighbour's cat
still burning my eyes.
'Did I cry? Why?'
I wondered aloud.
The walls replied,
'Because we could not.'

©Portia Burton
Portia Burton Oct 2021
Childhood Lost

When on the wings of a gentle breeze
Came the enticing scent of flowers
To nudge me awake and out of my bed
To  greet the new sunny summer day,
I rushed outside to wash my face
With the rosy glow of the smiling sun,
Thinking that I will always remain
A little girl roaming among these flowers ....
But, oh, the day always gave in to the night
That filled me with fright of growing old,
Wrinkled and wobbly like my granny,
And as the darkness' ink spread over me,
Alone, me and my doll clutched each other,
Thinking the world had been lost for us.
But again came a new bright day,
Reassuring me of myself and the world,
Showing everything is what it was,
Though the flowers had wilted in the vase,
I thought everything was sunny and sweet
Like the robin's melodious morning tweet,
But slowly the time took its toll,
It robbed me of childhood and my doll.

© Portia Burton
Portia Burton Oct 2021
Ten Long Years...

For the last ten years I've been suffering,
But, no, I don't want to tax you, dear friends,
With my sob story, since I know
That this pandemic has played havoc with many people.

No, it has not affected me at all or my family.
My family? That word makes me laugh bitterly.
Where is my family? My mom has gone,
Taken away by the deadly cancer,
My gramma has gone due to old age,
And my dad, Oh, whom I loved so much,
Who loved my mother intensely,
And I thought that he would grieve with me
For my mother, his darling wife,
And look after me as she used to do,
And my aunt will lessen my grief
With her music as she used to play for mom,
But, NO! These very two people hurt me,
Stabbed me straight in the heart
By marrying each other very shortly
After my mom was laid to rest.
Oh! What a haste! What a haste!
My dad became Claudius,
And my aunt proved to be Gertrude!...

They didn't say a word when I left
My house where I was born and grew,
Where I learnt many things from my mom,
Including playing piano, which, very sadly,
These two people have sold!

If that was not enough, then my Bestie,
With whom I spent the most beautiful years
Of my life at the Queen's College,
She succumbed to an horrible accident,
In which I got my leg fractured,
Suffered multiple injuries, only to come out
After almost six months with scars
And a broken heart....

Now I am all alone on my own,
Still gathering pieces of my broken life,
But I will surely rise again,
Only to fulfil the promise I had made
To my Bestie to pursue my research
For the betterment of the mankind.

© Portia Burton
Portia Burton Oct 2021
After My Mother Passed Away...

After my mother passed away
I realized the hollowness
Of the words of consolation.
All those gentle words,
Loving pats on shoulders
Could not console my mind
Which was crying silently within.
All that it felt was a vacuum
Which could never be filled.

Actually I did not remain as I was,
Some part of me had gone forever,
I had lost a place where
I could vent all my anger, anguish,
Pour out my doubts, worries,
And rest my head to find support,
Solace, love, and forgiveness.
Now nothing has remained the same,
For who can call me by that special name?

© Portia Burton
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