folding the sirens of
eternity in on themselves
as this scant hour
rebuilds its stage
over and
over
in the light of my eyes

already there is a perception
of being caught
in a loop - of a lesson
playing out
before a malady
of ignorance

i am free to see it
and i am free
to miss it

it is the long
breath
of the breaching
whale - an exchange
of currents for
the transformation of
sky into
ocean depths

it is
the
hidden union
in transience

recurring
in beautiful
obscurity

Most depths have yet to be explored.
The ocean,
the mind,
the wider universe.

Your deepest desires may reside
in the unexposed depths...
Find comfort in the unknown;
Find comfort in the darkness.

Who knows
what wonder grows
waiting to explode
from those who show
no signs outward?

Who knows what pains
burn from within,
what sick shames
stirs her or him
to inflict suffering
on themselves
or cause ****
for others who
never deserved it?

Who can read
beneath the flesh
that they see
and find depths
of ****** reds,
of wretched raw
tears that claw
at the surface,
raging for revenge
against those who
hurt us?

Who knows?

Eyes are so simple
Yet so mysterious

A quick glance can tell you
What they're conveying
But the longer you look
The more depths
You discover

Unfit Gifts
by Rabindranath Tagore
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

At sunrise, I cast my nets into the sea,
dredging up the strangest and most beautiful objects from the depths ...
some radiant like smiles, some glittering like tears, others flushed like brides’ cheeks.
When I returned, staggering under their weight, my love was relaxing in her garden, idly tearing leaves from flowers.
Hesitant, I placed all I had produced at her feet, silently awaiting her verdict.
She glanced down disdainfully, then pouted: "What are these bizarre things? I have no use for them!"
I bowed my head, humiliated, and thought:
"Truly, I did not contend for them; I did not purchase them in the marketplace; they are unfit gifts for her!"
That night I flung them, one by one, into the street, like refuse.
The next morning travelers came, picked them up and carted them off to exotic countries.

Keywords/Tags: Tagore, translation, Hindi, unfit, gifts, sunrise, nets, sea, depths, objects, smiles, tears, cheeks, love, lover, mistress, flowers, verdict, bizarre, refuse, trash, garbage, travelers, exotic, mrburdu

Tides and waves
Eroding groans from shells on stones
The tip from depths
A finite breath
Darker swells where stars dwell
Dwarfs or suns to midnight runs
Nothing is here to stay

God be with you
when in need
Broken hearts bleed
but the depths of pain are temporary
We feel, grieve and retrieve
some semblance of our former selves
Until we meet again

I feel it.
Everything.
I feel it.
Deep inside.
I hear the shadows,
And taste the light.
I feel it.
The crushing weight
And the transcendence
Of existence.
My skin, my flesh
Cannot contain this
Velcroed spirit.
I feel it all.