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I thought I was unduly bent
with the burden on my head
No heart had ears that understood
the tales my face had said
I thought the path had sifted me
away from smoother stones
Where everything is forsaken
and no one truly owns
I thought and thought and thought some more
till I no longer; saw
For eyes, that I knew not I had
widened to stirring awe
In tumblements, I had arrived
to the hall of cynosures
where souls lit up in endurance
and patience opened doors
Accepted for defectiveness
revered for differences
Collected, all, in being dispersed,
closer for distances
Had fate and path not made me, me
and storms made waves I ride
and then I took all I held in
and looked around, outside
It brings you. where you need to be
it gives, what you require;
To then, become what you were, always
waiting, beyond desire.
©️Arshia
13.7.2020
Tokyo
For unexpected realizations, I am #thankful
Sometimes the need is to look inside. Sometimes it is to look outside from the inside.
This poem arrived after I spoke to a lady whose daughter with special needs had passed away at age 25. Having lost my mother recently after a long illness and having a younger brother with special needs, I could talk about the challenges of disability, bereavement and so much more with her and I realised our shared experiences had brought us to a place where we understood and also stood apart.