Thursday, June 19, 2008

Poem: All said and done

Marriages for most people represent a maturing love. At least that's the hope. In a marriage after a period, emotions don't ebb and flow, but are existential - just part of being and living on a day-to-day basis. That is not to say those emotions aren't beautiful. But human communication hasn't evolved beyond words and actions. Communication isn't quite 3-D yet, is it? You can't share an experience of an emotion in an IMAX.

That's why I write so little these days - mature emotions, rational emotions are difficult to write about. And not half as exciting to read!

My rock
My unshakeable faith
Personified
My pulse
A measure of my spirit
Its human voice
My meter
A check for my conscience
Its reset button
My mirror
To check my balance
My confidence

Emotions are wonderful
Words are not
Articulate this effusion
And they fall short

Some truths sound commonplace
We can't escape that
My trust, your leap of faith
Take the form of this banal fact

All said and done
You. Are. The. One.

(c) VedicVerses (Rucha Gokhale)

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Poem: The green patch

Take a minute or 5
Step away, rest your eyes
Doctor's instructions

Itch to 'facebook' as I break
Add the 'green patch' to my page
No! must follow directions

Put my head back and contemplate
Of 'stuff' to add and to update
The 'green patch'

And my mind wanders to a walk at 5 a.m. ...

A walk at 5 a.m.
Feeling grouchy and lame;
Demanding and needy
Pets are over-rated!

Stumbling along
Him pulling, I tugging
Breaking the silence
With my shrieked commands

Chiding myself
Reminding myself
45 minutes said the dog whisperer!

With that fire hydrant to my temper
Shrugging and settling into routine
He ambles, I drag my feet
And we do the usual beat

Early is quiet
Cool despite the summer
Birds already about
River is still
Is that an otter?
Are there otters in New York?

Tongue lolling (he's too happy!)
He turns to look at me
I can't help but smile
At his stupid face and its stupid gaiety
(Who am I kidding! He's a handsome brute!)

We walk to the sand bar
The still water yipping gently at its edges
A half-finished bottle of Pepsi
Bobbing up and down on the waves
This is as close as it gets to nature
In the big city

He chases geese
I stand and look
In the far distance
Sun peeping over the shoulders of the Empire State
Brooklyn is waking
Lady Liberty preened from a previous night's rain
One end to the other of the panoramic view
Made just for me

He's ready to go -
The fresh bite mark on my wrist does not lie
Back to his ambling and
My dragging of feet
But refreshed and ready
I plant one more sweet memory in my green patch ...

(c) VedicVerses (Rucha Gokhale)