Sunday, November 02, 2008

Burying Love

I have sat up with the dead
all night, inhaling incense all
night, an attempted illusion
of flowers.

You do not speak ill of the dead, perhaps
out of reverence, or guilt, or
shame, for how important
are the wounds that you hide
compared to what lies before you,
transcendental.
You do not question
the act of passing, or allude to
its resemblance to escape.

And you pick only
the white flowers, carefully
averting your eyes from the red,
for the dead must be
buried in peace, left
without a stain of mortality
at all.

And you hope, maybe then, the dead
will leave you alone.

28 comments:

Unknown said...

bang on. its actually nice to see you write something honest, instead of whining about how you can't anymore. Its like hearing you speak after a long time.

and look, i commented.

Anoo. said...

I really really like the simplicity and clarity in this poem. write more often :)

Unknown said...

Very honest. And of course brilliantly written :)

Reeti said...

nice poem. love the rhythm. only one thing-you've written resemblace instead of resemblance. correct the typo :)

Arse Poetica said...

this is very powerful, you know, and very honest. because it's short, and has your style. aaro kobita lekh, kobita boro bhaalo jinish

Gypsy said...

very well done. i love the honesty.

Elendil said...

Very nice. Less emo-drama that most of your poems, without losing it's beauty.

Ali said...

:-)
rarely do I become this jealous of someone's talent.

Brilliant.

little boxes said...

you know very well that i completely lose my vocabulary when i read your poetry...
so all i can do is mumble a "wow"

precisely said...

I think you've just become my new favourite peer-group-poet.

Mr. Banerjee said...

what can i say other than what others are saying?

A different kind of heart wrenching honesty this be. A bit different than the other ones.

Mr. Banerjee said...

Oh, and it's beautiful. :)

Torsa said...

good attempt. brief and precise, but nevertheless having an emotional content that's touching, especially the last line.

Rhea Silvia said...

It's stunning, as all your poems are.

Jadis said...

O_o

jawdropping. seriously.

bhishon shishon shundor. touches you at a level very few long rambling poems could ever come close to touching...
:)

Kaichu said...

incredible

khuub khub bhalo likhechhis, mandy. i love the sheer atmosphere you bring to it.

What's In A Name ? said...

beautiful. especially the way you end your sentences with words meant for the next.

Bhaskar Pitla said...

hey always liked reading your poems..they have mostly dark and grim shades to them...that what makes them so alluring.And this poem is just as simple and clear as the sky with all its illuminating stars..!

keep writing and posting(on caferati also)

Mamma mia! Me a mamma? said...

My jethu passed away this Sunday. I can't even begin to tell you in how many ways this poem touched me, moved me, guilted me, made sense to me.

Astraeus said...

as duncan wrote:

for this is the company of the living
and the poet's voice speaks from no
crevice in the ground between
mid earth and underworld...


beautiful
:)

Dhruva said...

Amazing. Brilliantly written. Aching, yet numb. Mandy, poetry such as this requires rarity to be brought forth.

Pongy Papaya said...

but they never quite ...


lovely :)

Jijo said...

All I can say is that You got all five of My senses working altogether.

Running in circles. said...

ah

CheshireCat said...

You know I love your poetry.
But this is a little different, more honest. More approachable, somehow.

Kintu tui boddo kom likhish.

Meghana Naidu said...

absolutely wonderful
i was lost in the poem, the images clear before my eyes and that is enough testimony to how much i loved it

Meg

asuph said...

I am at loss when commenting on poetry. My reactions are mostly binary: this worked for me, this didn't. This did. Really did.

One of the better poems I've read in a while.

regards,
asuph

Puja Upadhyay said...

wonderful poem on death and beyond,reminded me of some things...the dark image created is heart touching, soul stirring...beautiful.