Jan 7, 2017 Free Verse, Original Poetry
Sharp Diamond Breath
©January 7th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
Sometimes, I take a breath
And hold it in, faint with need
As the atmosphere thins,
So that all the air within
Crystallizes into a diamond
So clear, so dispassionate,
I gasp, and choke as I try
To take in more.
See, it’s not literal, although
Sometimes, I feel I cannot
Breathe, and then my held air
Becomes precious, faceted,
A gulp of carbon
Forged deep within,
Cutting me to pieces.
Perhaps, there’s terror in
Letting it all out again.
One can trust this world
Only so much.
Then again, it might be
A practice session for that
Precious, beloved, sharp
Intake of breath, that
Final one.
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Apr 17, 2016 Free Verse, Original Poetry
In response to The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt: Breath
Breathe!
© April 17th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
Inspire me!
My vision fails, and
My limbs are weak.
And all I hear is
My dog barking.
I am hungry. I care
Only for food, and its
Atavistic satisfaction.
I wish to know how
To shape this day,
Stretch its sunshine
Into a perfectly folded
Sandwich, and eat it.
Respire deeply.
Meditate on your
Vision of a world
Without famine.
Go out, and gaze upon
The shy daffodils,
The narcissus and the
Hyacinth, now making bold
With the Spring-light,
And flaunting their young
Beauty in the amorous breeze.
Aspire to your other self –
Lying among the beaches of
The Milky Way, starry-eyed
You reach lazily for a cluster of
Constellations to nibble – ah
Just out of your reach!
Think not of unfinished work
(It will happen.)
Think not of goals you’ve
Misplaced or forgotten.
(Were they important?)
Think not of age creeping
Slyly up on you,
Stretching your cheeks,
Softening your chin,
Pulling at your eyelids.
Time is jealous of youth.
(Who cares?)
Do you see your other self?
See? She smiles, stretches
Her galactic hand to you.
(Go on, grasp it!)
Suspire deeply:
When you are flung back onto
This sun-flecked present,
While a chickadee and a finch
Take turns at the bird-feeder,
Grateful for food; suspire, and
Remember your hunger
Sigh at your vast satisfaction
When you taste bread.
When the tedious days
Pull at your limbs, as the sun
Moves drunkenly through
The blue-saturated sky,
Go upstairs, leg dragging after leg,
Fall on the bed in slow motion,
Snooze and dream a happy dream
Of rabbits in Spring.
Conspire with me now:
How do we arrest this day,
Weaving a gossamer net
Of sunshine and flowers
And bird-song and slow hours,
Pull her to shore,
And still live long?
Harness the Sun, tempt his horses
With apples and grass,
Then recline and dream away
This lovely day.
Alas, it transpires that I have
Tedious tasks, and so do you.
We cannot linger, we must go.
The birds can dream, and so too
The dog, who gazes out full of
Joy this beautiful Sunday.
And before I expire from the
Loveliness and the quietude,
I turn at the knock on
My door. The day beckons.
Go outside! Walk the dog!
Spirit, mine,
Be gentle. Breathe quietly.
Let this day be long.
Let me walk in peace
Among the tall trees.
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Tags: #Breath, #OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram, #SpringtimeFantasy, #The Daily Prompt, #TheDailyPost
Jul 21, 2015 Uncategorized
Breath-less
©July 21st, 2015
By Vijaya Sundaram
The Guru sits, enthralled,
Arms out at knees, palms upwards,
Hair in a knot, eyes closed,
Deep in the blood of you,
Quiet behind your eyes,
Gathering visions.
And the world spirals inwards
And ever inwards,
Until you reach the core,
Where burns a sun
As still and blue
And molten and plasmic
As every dream you
Ever had, ever held,
As it, too, vanished in a breath
Of the OM you breathed
In your gathering of,
And your letting free, the air
You so desperately needed
To live.
Just sit, breathe, dream,
Envision, desire, grasp, sorrow,
And let it slip away, let it all
Vanish in that breath,
And let that breath go.
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Tags: #Breath, #Original Poetry, nirvana