forest, matheran hills
by Priya Sarukkai Chabria
in memory of Saroja Kamakshi
here:
mountains smoke still clouds
pooled water pauses before spilling
lightning stalls forest’s tousle
mists hang before parting
i.e.:
the elements grant
the trembled stay
existence needs
to return to living
once my mother used to speak
once I remained a child however old I grew
hear, she said, the body’s rhythm
the pause between each breath
the silence after each word
notice, she said, language body nature prayer
follow the same rules of resting
now unearthed she torrents
in me while unseen starlight drifts
on distant paths
Priya Sarukkai Chabria is a poet, novelist, essayist, and translator with five published books. Awarded by the Indian government for her outstanding contribution to literature, her work has been translated into six languages and is published in Adelphiana, Asymptote, the Literary Review (USA), South Asian Review, Caravan, Cha, Post Road, the British Journal of Literary Translation, Drunken Boat, Pratilipi, Language for a New Century, IQ, and Another English: Anglophone Poems from Around the World, among others. Forthcoming in 2015 are translations of Tamil mystic poet Aandaal (Zubaan) and a short story collection (Niyogi Books). She edits poetry at Sangam. www.priyawriting.com
I rarely come across fascinating poems to read. Those that touch you and make you pause a minute and think. This is one such poem. Congrats.
This is so beautiful, Priya.