#OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram - Vijaya Sundaram

Jan 14, 2017 Free Verse, Original Poetry, Uncategorized

Soft
©January 14th, 2017
By Vijaya Sundaram

Food makes our eyes soft.
We hunger while we wait for it
Or we cook, and are sated.
And the food, steaming hot,
Made with love and care,
Full of richness
Brings an upwelling of gratitude
And makes our eyes soft.

And tempers are mollified
And stomachs sated,
And work happens,
And projects met,
All because food, ready and rich,
And made with love and care,
Comes to us, at our table,
And makes our eyes soft.

So it was when I nursed my babe
And she looked with her milk-bright face,
(Two-and-a-half months old, she was),
And smiled up at me, blurry-eyed,
Like a watery painting come to life,
And I smiled down at her,
At her silken and cloud-like
Presence, in the circlet of my arms
Her gaze seemed to say, Thank you.
Her eyes were soft.

So it is when I cook for my dog –
Fragrant, buttery rice and vegetables,
Or omelette with a side of yoghurt –
Her face looks misty as she awaits food.
See how she stands, patient and alert,
Tail at half-mast, full of the knowledge
That food, her much-awaited food
Will tip into a bowl, all for her.
And now she bends to eat.
When she looks up at me
Her eyes are soft.

This is love, and this is gratefulness
When I see you, and you, and you,
I am satiated, and am glad
And a hunger I never knew existed
Is appeased and eased, and a softness
Settles upon my aching self.
I am full with the love of you,
And am grateful for this richness.
And when I gaze upon you, and you, and you
My eyes feel soft.

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Tags: #FoodandLove, #FoodPoem, #OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram, #Satiation

Head of a Pin

Jan 13, 2017 Free Verse, Original Poetry

Head of a Pin
©January 13th, 2017
By Vijaya Sundaram

When the whole world narrows
Down to a point, a shining
Painful point, piercing and straight,
And you’re standing on that point
Dancing on the head of a pin
And all the other versions of you
Also dance there,
Do you exist in space and time?
And if so, do you still occupy both?
And how about now?
And now?

Either it must be a very big point
Or you do not exist,
Except as myth and dream
Perhaps, that pin does not hurt
Not very much, at least.
And if it does hurt, can you
And your other selves
Lift off and scatter into the ether?
Do you hear the beating of your wings?
Are you aloft now? Or falling?
And now?

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Tags: #AngelsandPins, #OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram, #PhilosophicalQuestion

Death of a Christmas Tree

Jan 12, 2017 Free Verse, Original Poetry

Death of a Christmas Tree
©January 12th, 2017
By Vijaya Sundaram

The rain fell today, when I wasn’t looking.
And the gloom gathered around me.
And I, stranger to myself,
Dismantled the Christmas Tree.
The ornaments, so bright, so delicate,
Came down, one by one,
And, tenderly wrapped in tissue,
Went into their box to sleep for
Yet another year, quiescent and docile.

Our daughter finds joy in Christmas
And Christmas trees, and therefore, so do I.
Together, we put up ornaments, and talk
And laugh at silly things, while we do so.
And usually, we take them down together,
Though not today.

Today, I got to work on it alone, and
Took down the lights that were wound
Round and round and round the tree
By my husband (who does the lights).
I unwound the lights, and felt dizzy
Going round and round, like a pagan
Dancing in the woods, in a
Meaningless ritual which spun meaning
Out of the cocoon of our lives.

I do this for our daughter,
For the magic of bright lights
In the dark days of winter, when sadness
Knocks on the door, wanting to come in.
But we talk of Christmas and presents,
And dream of snow and make hot chocolate,
And eat roasted vegetables,
And make a fire in the fireplace.

The dog watched me today, as I put things away
Patient, and polite, and curious, and puzzled:
All this trouble for a tree?
She takes it in her stride, though,
And has never interfered, even in her
Playful, destructive puppyhood.
Respectful and quiet, half-dreaming,
She watches the tree, and listens, and dozes
While the tree dies, as it has been dying
Little by little since we brought it home.

And my daughter, when I told her,
Said sadly, I’ll miss our Christmas Tree.
So will I, I reply, it was a good tree.

Shedding needles, the tree dies,

My heart is sore.
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Tags: #ChristmasOrnaments, #ChristmasTree, #OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram

Wake, Awake

Jan 10, 2017 Free Verse, Original Poetry, Uncategorized

Wake, Awake
©January 10th, 2017
By Vijaya Sundaram

When the day narrows to a point,
And blue-white night expands,
I bob, laughingly in the wake
Of all I intended to do,
Holding tightly on to the
Silken, translucent thread
That keeps me above water,
The thread spooling before me,
While I, skidding lightly
Behind it, grow giddy with
Uncertain, heady anticipation
Of all that I plan to do
First thing
Tomorrow.

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Tags: #Being Awake, #OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram, #Procrastination, #Wake

To My Daughter, On Her Birthday

Jan 9, 2017 Original Poetry, Uncategorized

To My Daughter, On Her Birthday
©January 9th, 2017
By Vijaya Sundaram

Can it be that the entire known universe
Arises from a single, careening meeting
Of brooding star-egg and speeding star-sperm?

What sperm travels millions of miles
Full of urgent need, driven through nothingness,
While the warm, dreaming egg awaits?

And when they meet and mate,
What pleasure occurs, and what pain, and what
Amorphous thoughts gather and morph?

And what enormous soundless clashes
Create crackling cradles for stars and comets,
As they make great swoops through space?

And what forces all that void to expand
Endlessly, pushing outward, breaking off
Making stars, making room for planets?

And what fills all that room, in vain
Trying to defeat that yawning void
That looms always, a dark presence?

And what laughter echoes around that void
As we stumble into being, look around, love,
Light candles along the way to our end?

And how did you come to be,
A minuscule embryonic presence
Heavy like a gulp of self inside me?

And how did you emerge, whole, from this,
My body, and grow so tall, so sweet,
So full of song, so full of acceptance?

Twelve years flowing backwards endlessly
To that singular moment when you emerged,
I heard the sound of light pulled into air.

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Tags: #Birthday Poem, #Metaphorical poem, #Mother and Daughter, #OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram

Sharp Diamond Breath

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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Tags: #Breath, #OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram

Jester in Repose

Dec 13, 2016 Free Verse, Original Poetry