Sacred Font (for mom)

Sacred Font (for mom)

Words elude as I try to pry them
Loose-from mind’s wall,  stream-
Lining them for a justifiable fit

Reverence mingles as tears well for a soul
That was so gentle and loving, a mighty
Heart that touched countless many

A mother of three yet unworldly, innocent
Gullible to a fault, often taken for a ride
By smooth talking strangers, friends

Nothing sullied her faith in human goodness
She believed in sharing whatever she had freely
With whosoever knocked on our door~ daily, nightly

Implicit faith made her tiny stature seem tall, she only
Wore immaculate starched white saris and unabashedly
Sang in gatherings-rather out of tune, her voice quivering

Folks smiled and let her be without saying a word
Making us feel as if she was their beloved child and
Not their friend or neighbor~ such was her sacred aura

Our rebellious ways she controlled with welling
Eyes making us feel like heels and quickly we caved
Behaving just as she expected without letting her down

Afflicted early in life, she managed herself with dignity
Never weeping or giving in, always carrying herself
With infinite grace and courage living life on own terms

Once due to cancelled trains I was helplessly caught in a human
Stampede, her non-stop prayers brought me home unharmed with not
A single hair out of place, nor any body part broken, miraculously

One day she decided to call it quits and gave up on life
The malady she had beaten returned after a score of years
Not prepared to suffer once again, she chose to live no more

Willing herself to die- she let go of her life surrounded by
All her friends, distant and close kin –after seeking forgiveness
From each and everyone thus reconciling her ledger of life

The night vigil is one I will remember to my dying day, as we bid
Godspeed to her departing soul –the image of her deity became her face
As wonderstruck we beheld this sight, happy she was finally home

You Linger

You Linger

You had crossed
Over and we had
Dutifully given
A grand sendoff
Amidst flowers
Mantra chants
Fragrant pyre
Of sandalwood
Bier of your favorite
Flowers and things

Ashes and bones
Fire purified, lovingly
Immersed in holy Ganges
Shradh* ceremony
To appease preceded
Performed to ease
Your onward journey
So~Why~Did~You
Return?

Linger ~thus~ Scaring children
Grandchildren ~ who loved you so
When you wore a human form
Of flesh and bone?

You linger bodiless
Transparent ~ethereal
flowing filling spaces
Like air jet stream disturbing
Aura, dust and light motes
Turning darkness~ dank musky

What is remiss
do you miss us
or have we missed
something? Do indicate
So we can make amends
And Bid you a final adieu

You linger
but since
I love you
So- do go
Gently into
Night in peace
And harmony

~

*Sanskrit ?r?ddha, also spelled Shraddha, in Hinduism, is a ceremony performed in honor of a dead ancestor.  The rite is both a social and a religious responsibility enjoined on all male Hindus. The importance given in India to the birth of sons is to ensure that there will be a male descendant to perform the sraddha ceremony after one’s death.  The rite is performed for deceased father, grandfather, and great-grandfather and also for mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. It is intended to nourish, protect, and support their spirits.

*picture courtesy Sook Hottle

Ancient maps/flags

Ancient maps/flags

 

Swatches, patches
Strains, refrains
Snatches, peals

 

Shreds, pieces
Ancient maps
Soul compasses

 

ocean’s murmur
Nature’s twitter
Surfacing old ken

 

Elusive, unpinned
Tantalizing discomfort
Knowledge within reach

 

No time for frustration
Beckoning pathways
two pronged veins arteries

 

déjà vu relics
impinge, tingle
dreams real surreal

 

realization’s dawn
omnipresence eternal
timeless, infinite

 

thresholds, windowsills
glass doors, panes, ever
revolving, escalating, lowering

 

light puddles, tarot plucked
tea leaves in dregs
beg to be read

 

 

(*ken: knowledge

often wonder- have 100s of (e)friends, yet only a handful connect deeply-
 the whys and wherefores of it- I question myself all the time- is it a past connection?
 Déjà vu kind?)
**pic from internet

.

Connections, Linkages

Bringing the bodies home

Connections/Linkages

Physical bodies matter little

Get backward linked forward

 

we still bring the bodies home

astral, emotionally bound

even as we go through life

going through the motions,

 

we stay thus connected

keeping them prisoners

mutual histories bind the clay

forming bodies, in mind at play

 

** The astral body is a subtle body posited

by many religious philosophers, intermediate

between the intelligent soul and the physical

body, composed of a subtle material.

 

Life Chakra

Life Chakra

 

Self controlled, swallow back
of grief laced spilling waters
swelling throngs paid homage

 

paper shell lay on icy ledge
a ripe melon severed from vine
another thistle in blowing wind

 

real half climbing to journey on
entering mystic sienna cave portal
ready to don another  abstract form

 

opening eyes in a new city, life,
another crisp layered ad- mixture
self chosen by past karmic choices

(pic from internet only)

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