"mamihlapinatapai" poems
If happiness is from Heaven, and sadness from Hell,
I’m in-between worlds.
I’ve learned more from Hell,
then Heaven could ever tell.
Sadness etched on lips, and fingertips.
Creating it, that false sense,
of whatever Love is.
You’re always a victim, but never the culprit.
Funny to me, of "we,"
you found us first and kept it, Dear.
The voorpret we felt, as each drew near,
has now turned into fear.
Perhaps a love between you and I,
should have remained as mamihlapinatapai.
That, after all,
would have been, a happy end.
-N.C.
Mar 20, 2015
Mar 20, 2015 at 3:23 AM UTC
i fall in love with
the boy who picks up
my book in the crowded hallway.
with the girl who
gives me one small smile.
every day, every minute,
there is a new love on my mind.
the love is involintary,
momentary.
you have never
done so much as to give
me the faint idea of your feelings.
one 'hello', one look my way.
5 minute love.
the girl who opened my door
is forgotten the minute
your glance meet mine.
i dream in black and white,
your hazel eyes breaking the color barrier.
i think only in lyrics,
and every thought of you belongs to a love song.
if home is where the heart is,
then your smile is my home.
and if true love was split at creation,
then you are my third and fourth leg.
your eyes stay focused ahead,
but i cannot keep mine off of you.
you radiate 'love me!',
the mating call to a lonesome lover.
a boy tells me he loves me,
i hear it in your voice.
i get my first kiss and i am only
thinking of the curve of your upper lip.
i find someone new every day,
i find a new reason to love you every minute.
unrequited.
keep me in love.
keep you close to me,
all the way across town.
keep you on my mind.
faded.
"i love you,"
and i am awake, brightly printed on my eyelids.
i can feel the words sinking in.
make you want to want me.
Sep 9, 2015
Sep 9, 2015 at 8:37 PM UTC
In Welsh
The word "Hiraeth" means
A homesickness for a home
To which you cannot return.
A home which maybe never was.
The nostalgia,
The yearning,
The grief for the lost places of your past.
In Russian
The word "Toska" means
A dull ache of the soul.
A longing with nothing to long for.
A sick pining.
A vague restlessness.
In Yaghan
The word "Mamihlapinatapai" means
A look shared by two people,
Each wishing that the other will
Offer something that they both desire
But are unwilling to suggest or offer themselves.
You say that you love my words
And wonder why I have such a passion for them.
It's simple, really.
I'm merely trying to put a name
To everything you inspire me to feel.
Jun 4, 2014
Jun 4, 2014 at 5:12 AM UTC
The world is out of balance: koyaanisqatsi!
Numinous, my heart's nemophilist alerted to the danger,
yet presently in rasasavada, espies the solstace moon and cries
in acatalepsy: Mamihlapinatapai with the hunter within...
Should I embrace this smultronställe,
cought in the ostranenie of meliorism,
or drift from this vorfrued to sophresyne;
My only desire is the nurishing erlebnisse of metanoia,
of my dérive towards sehnsucht:
of rasasavada, that I may insulate myself from the Weltanschauung
of modern society, hiraeth to a nefelibata.
Dec 26, 2015
Dec 26, 2015 at 6:11 PM UTC
~
the language of love,
it has no equivalence,
we speak what we hope,
we seek what we love;
vacillating? perhaps,
but there is no ambivalence.
lovers whisper, lovers shout;
alternating between holding it in,
or getting the words out.
whether sweet words of friendship,
or letting the heart go,
each tells a tale, a heartbeat,
one the spirit only knows.
is it the “shemomedjamo” of Georgia,
the “overindulgence that
cannot stop this appetite;”
or “lagom” of the Swedes,
who speak of moderation?
where what i have and what i see,
is perfect, just right!
the words, “koi no yokan,”
from the culture of the east,
Japanese speak of the instant of knowing
a love that’s “meant to be.”
there is “mamihlapinatapai,”
used by those at the tip,
of Tierra del Fuego’s windswept cliffs,
a lover’s wish they can’t set free;
further north Brazilians speak,
of “cafune,” the sweet tugging
at her long and flowing hair;
a love that reaches,
strokes, so tenderly.
the Thai use “greng-jai,”
for love that defers...
and to sacrifice refers;
the French have “retrouvailles,”
a love that sparks rediscovery,
where distance knows no separation;
“onsra,” is a love
soon to be a thing of the past;
used in Burma and India when spoken of
a love that cannot last.
the “saudade,” of the Portuguese,
of love that can no longer be,
though it may have been consuming,
is now but bittersweet.
and then... there is Arabic’s “tuqburni,”
a love that says so gently
“without you i am dying!”
each, it has no English equivalent
yet somehow we manage...
we find our true love,
in relationships, in marriage,
for love is a catholic language;
even when there are no words,
where touch, where tender looks,
translations of the unheard thoughts;
where pillows hold the notes of longing,
empty bars and stanzas filled;
oh love, oh boundless one,
under steeples pledge your troth,
to death’s door you take your oath,
to forever sing your universal song!
May 8, 2014
May 8, 2014 at 1:28 AM UTC
I dream of you without knowing how, or when, or where. There you are, poised in front of me. Beautiful in nature with a fire unbeknownst to all. I see no face nor physical features but I feel you. Your hand on my chest is my hand, lips so close that we share one breath.
I look at you, looking at me, thought rushing unable to be put with words.
We are at a place where I does not exist, nor you. Falling in and out of space without realizing we've moved. One body or two, it's been so long I no longer remember. One is what we've become, a single organism thriving without needing.
( Mamihlapinatapai -A look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that both desire )
May 19, 2012
May 19, 2012 at 11:48 PM UTC
It was nice to have weather that was still;
I wondered why
there are some questions we should refrain from asking
and why everything is connected
to everyone and why everyone is influenced
by something—or someone
It was easy to breathe
It was clear that there is always time for indulgence
and it began at the end and
ended at the beginning
Mamihlapinatapai
My exit would be simple
Wholesome simplicity
Mar 18, 2012
Mar 18, 2012 at 3:05 AM UTC
Posmotrite tam
Ako dito sa aking puso
Ich saB da an diesem Tag ein Blick in unsere Seele
Ahora camina por delante de mi todos los dias
Ti penso tutti i giorni, ma
Mamihlapinatapai
Jul 9, 2014
Jul 9, 2014 at 9:04 PM UTC
Time stops and the world dissolves
into a thin mist, condensing
to form a single point
where your mind meets halfway
with her heart while the earth
and the sky meld with the amber horizon
as the midnight stars descend
to glisten and burst into brilliant supernovae
in her eyes and yours while heartbeats race
to the rhythm of unwritten love songs
and mamihlapinatapai melodies
while thought and reason escape
and words fail inevitably
as both your heart and hers are lost
in a bittersweet tangle
of ghostly kisses and longing fingertips
adrift in a sea of heartstrings
and shifting bed sheets.
Jul 22, 2011
Jul 22, 2011 at 5:59 AM UTC
Our eyes meet discreetly.
The eyes speak without sound.
The minds cross notions,
whilst words remain unspoken.
Lips linger & tease movements,
but protrude no noise nor speech.
Subtle gestures test the receiver,
of parallel human beings -
embodied in each second passed.
The minutes move.
Silence dictates the situation.
Yet speaks volumes.
Tension is non existent;
hanging upon one another breath alone.
If a pin dropped it would remain unnoticed.
The power of pupils stare unbroken.
Outspoken with closed mouths zipped.
Ventriloquist gift with no sound.
A desire to say so much, sweetheart.
Selflessness cherishes special situations.
Evanescence essence to appreciate the present.
An hour passed through the hour glass;
not slow,
not fast,
just perfect please.
Holding back but content.
A contest of cat and mouse.
Chasing thoughts through clairvoyance,
clarity achieved without a lifted finger.
A smile lingers adoringly.
A rush of blood and rosy cheeks.
A secret meeting of two human beings - M A M I H L A P I N A T A P A I
Jun 10, 2015
Jun 10, 2015 at 8:31 AM UTC
One morning as I wandered
through a less familiar part of town
Body portraying mind state
I stopped at a bench to overlook the sea
And contemplate my current predicament
Stranded
on the wrong side of town
with no form of communication.
without a plan I had a seat
near to a rather grungy fellow
you could tell he’d been some places
but now here he was
stranded
on the wrong side of fate and fortunes.
we exchanged greetings that were
as pale as the sky that day.
the morning sun stung my eyes
when he finally whispered that
he had seen some dolphins just yesterday
then
we sat in silence, just we two
me and this man I hardly knew
before departing, I saw it clear
rolled down his cheek, a single tear
a tacit thank you from this out cast
it seems we communicated at last
Apr 8, 2013
Apr 8, 2013 at 12:58 AM UTC
*Stars, eyes, and distance—
Mamihlapinatapai—
This is how it ends.*
© 2015 J.S.P.
Nov 23, 2015
Nov 23, 2015 at 6:59 AM UTC
your glance sees into me, as hearts beat in concert
Jul 9, 2015
Jul 9, 2015 at 12:16 PM UTC
We found each other in the crevices of our hearts.
Oct 20, 2014
Oct 20, 2014 at 12:43 PM UTC
“When two people want something but neither will do it”
I’ll slip on ice trying to tell you,
I’ll read your mind like its my own,
I know you feel it too, its not just me
Something changed between us,
Who knew you’d be the first to say it,
Who knew you’d be the first to crack,
I saw it coming, but not from you.
I didn’t know you had it in you,
But why does it hurt? Was I wrong?
I feel like a child, a dumb child.
The one who threw her toys on the ground,
And then when they got taken away,
They cried, they begged, they felt guilty.
Just like I do with you.
Who knew the first time I lost to you,
I would just lose you.
Mar 2, 2018
Mar 2, 2018 at 9:47 AM UTC
if
we
share
the same
look of the
same wish we
both desire, then
why don't we take
turns to make the
first move,
and give
each gaze a try?
Apr 17, 2019
Apr 17, 2019 at 10:55 AM UTC
A esta emoción, la que se percibe más valiente
la que grita libertad
vigorosa, atrevida
la que siento para vos.
no te asustes, criatura frágil
no es amor —
el amor aparece bastante débil al lado de
este sentimiento, el que siento para vos.
quiero darte atención.
esta atención que necesitas, que pides
esta atención que tus padres nunca te proveyeron
porque nunca supieron como regalartela
esta atención que toda tu vida pensaste
que no la mereces
y no te prometo una ilusión
sino miradas intensas
deseos de besos sin besarnos
mamihlapinatapai
mi mano pasando por tu cabello cuando manejas
mi hombro cuando tenés ganas de descansar tu cabeza
algunas caricias corporales, un contacto piel a piel
mis brazos para abrazarte en el seno de la selva brasileña
cuando se escuchan por todos lados resonancias de la lluvia
gotas cayendo sobre los árboles y sobre nuestros cuerpos
unidos, como un Ser único
una respiración única que hacemos la nuestra
Somos dos árboles creciendo de una misma raíz.
cascadas para suavizar tus tormentos
donde bañarte te dará una sensación de Vida
melodía del agua para ensordecer los gritos de la ciudad,
del mundo, hermoso, pero a veces traicionero
para seres humanos sencillos que somos
aunque complejos
esta atención que facilitará el peso de la atmósfera
de las responsabilidades, de las obligaciones imaginarias
quizás una atención que bajará esta protección,
este caparazón, esta cáscara tuya
una atención sin expectativas
esta atención, si la tomas, si la aceptas
será tuya. entera. completa. y verdadera
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025 at 11:06 AM UTC