Vijaya Sundaram

Poet, Musician, Teacher, and Amateur Visual Artist

The Eternal Seduction of the Unfettered Mind

The Eternal Seduction of the Unfettered Mind
©
July 21st, 2016

By Vijaya Sundaram

Birds sail the air like fast boats.
Ferns wave, dreamy and ancient.
Quietly, a mushroom grows
At the foot of a fir tree.
The Now seduces me.
I watch with half-closed eyes
At the post-noon languor
Of my backyard.

I know there are chores
Piling up, and a garden
Awaiting my ministrations
And a life that needs sorting
Papers and plans, and plants.
I know I should be an adult,
And engage in busy-ness.
But I cannot, not now.

A cup of water like a benediction
A book before me, interrupted by this poem,
This computer blinking cursorily at me,
That backyard sodden with sunlight,
All of these drive thoughts of tomorrow
Into the dustpan of blankness.

I lose myself in the Seeing
The Hearing, the Being
Of this world around me.

Could this mean
I am carefree,
At least, for now?

___________________________________________________________

Carefree

(With apologies for echoing the title, “The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” one of the best titles I’ve ever come across in film.)