beneath these languages of
this man and that
this state and that
this nation and that
this world and that
and I sing the same song beneath-
I am humanity.
I am the granite
beneath your cave sculpture.
I am the canvas
beneath your mural colour.
I am the idea, not the sculpted Buddha.
I am enlightenment.
I am the devotion, not the idol of Jesus or Krishna
I am non- dualism.
I am the pilgrimage
of the Sufi who dances
the Shamana who compassionately glances
the builder who builds
the individual artist and guilds
who create me
in words, scriptures or monuments.
I am silence
what this world knows and feels
but does not hear or see.
And I am silence,
what this world wants and craves for
but does not let it be.
But does not let it be.
So,
Will you just let me
be?
But I am silence.
I can kill
this man and that
this state and that
this nation and that
this world and that
I can kill-
humanity.
I am silence
that this world has heard and seen
this state and that
this nation and that
this world and that
I can kill-
humanity.
I am silence
that this world has heard and seen
before revolutions and wars.
And I am silence,
that this world let it be
before genocides and their shrieking scars.And I am silence,
that this world let it be
So,
Will you just let me
be?
picture source https://in.pinterest.com/pin/567805465494381784/
Awesome! This is such a powerfully written poem :D especially love this part:
ReplyDeleteI am the pilgrimage
of the Sufi who dances
the Shamana who compassionately glances
the builder who builds
the individual artist and guilds
who create me
in words, scriptures or monuments.
Beautifully executed :D thank you so much for participating in Prompt Nights Gazal :D
Lots of love,
Sanaa
Thanks a ton Sanaa. I loved the poems you chose for the prompt.
Deletepleasure.
:)
Love
Gazal.
Silence is so hard to find in this world. But when we do, it is something to treasure. And so much can happen when we come to that place where we 'just be.'
ReplyDeletewell said Mary.
DeleteLetting things be seems tricky. Once we start we don't know how to stop. Even our own mind, with all its thoughts, seems like an independent entity, a mass of squirming particles that don't need our attention. It gets to a point where it becomes scary and we suddenly wake up as if from a daze and again start picking up things that we had let go of.
ReplyDeleteLayer by layer we peel away the clothes our soul wears. But for some weird reason, when we finally get to the last few layers, just before our soul is laid bare, we start dressing it back again. I wonder what we'd find if the true nature of the soul were revealed. I wonder why we stop ourselves from finding out.
May be what we would find is that silence we seek... May be that is what Buddha called enlightenment, Jainism calls kaivalya, the sufi trance.
DeleteAnd u know why we stop ourselves from finding out, because any such search makes us what they call 'unworldly'... but we were born to live in this world...
But why do we choose to remain a part of the world? Here every joy and every sorrow is momentary. Nothing is absolute, not even even our own convictions that we build with such devotion. Why do we choose to stay and watch people who are closest to us shrivel and die of old age? Why do we wait even though we know that every feeling in our heart will eventually be consumed by mere boredom? Why do we choose such rebuke when we could step out and go in search of that which at least promises eternal rest? We may never find it, but who knows, we may yet!
Delete''I am silence
ReplyDeletethat this world has heard and seen
before revolutions and wars.
And I am silence,
that this world let it be
before genocides and their shrieking scars.''
Wow, this is so powerful and amazing.
http://girlwiththeblackdiary.blogspot.com/
thank you:)
DeleteSilence can be both the reaper and the healer... isn't that why we both fear and love it?
ReplyDeletetrue. that's why there is a difference between the silence of a graveyard, and of a church or monastery.
DeleteAll that noise is a distraction, an excuse, so we don't become what we are intended to become. People are afraid to be alone with only their thoughts so they numb their ears with noise- static
ReplyDeletetrue. You remind me of someone's beautiful lines..
Delete"We must not fall asleep on our heart. It'll go numb"
I read today that "Your mind is capable of producing 50% more stress than your body can handle." As humans, we are innately wired to struggle with 'letting things be'--our minds run rampant with the production of stress....of NOT letting things be...I like this reminder that this world let it be in silence before all the things that we, as humans, created....like genocides and revolutions and wars. If only we could get back to just letting things BE.
ReplyDeleteYes, sometimes we are not allowed to let just be.
DeleteThe other times we do not let just things be.
Thats our paradox you see..
Yes, it is indeed our paradox!
DeleteVery powerful writing. A great read :)
ReplyDeletethank you Purba.
Delete:)
The use of the first person is very effective and strong..a real reflection of silence and what it can mean - both positive and negative perhaps
ReplyDeleteThank you Jae. Keep talking:)
DeleteStay silent and let it be? No! One must be heard. Being pressured by the powerful and helpless to do anything. But still there must be a voice to make it known!
ReplyDeleteHank
Thanks Hank. Yes. This is what I try to explain in the last verse.
Delete
ReplyDelete"I am the pilgrimage
of the Sufi who dances
the Shamana who compassionately glances
the builder who builds
the individual artist and guilds
who create me
in words, scriptures or monuments.
I am silence
what this world knows and feels
but does not hear or see."
Powerful write! :)
thank you.
Delete:)
Two powerful sides of the same coin....silence.....what we sometimes need and crave, and then when used instead of words lets hatred and death reign.
ReplyDeleteTrue...
Deletewe must learn to just let silence be sometimes !
ReplyDeletewell written !
Yes.
Deletesometimes.
Thank you.
:)
deep poem,
ReplyDeletewell written.
thanks Susan.
Delete:)
This is very powerful writing.....that silence that allows genocides and ecological damage to occur..........I, too, especially loved the lines quoted just above, "I am the pilgrimage of the Sufi who dances." Brilliant writing.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sherry.
DeleteYes the silence which leaked in policy of appeasement, in cold war compromises in UNSC, and the silence to structural violence in name of caste and religion... if that could be broken by listening to that inner silence which becomes the pilgrimage of the Sufi.
Thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rosemary.
DeleteWow. I particularly like thinking of what's under the surface as the great I AM, Silence. I mean, I love how you captured the positive side of silence's power. And then the other side makes me quiver--you expose the truths. My Goodness!
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan. Silence is one of the most sought after truths.. but then, what you said, 'the other side' is when we let silence become indifference. that is when humankind becomes cold.
Deletesilence in light and dark shade...an amazingly deep poem....
ReplyDeleteTrue. It has its hues and shades..
DeleteThank you Sumana.:)
Silence can kill, and silence can heal. It's quite a powerful entity, yes. Congratulations on the upcoming book. :)
ReplyDeleteVery true Vinay.
DeleteThank you so much. :)