I was making my way through a
feracious jungle,
Each step sinking into the cold earth,
Parasites leeching off my back,
Vines tangled around ankles,
Thorny weeds leaving scars,
Sly wanderers wearing faces.
I take in the oh-so-sweet fruits
Handed to me in my face,
Which briefly satiate
To only wound from the inside.
At a lush green desert,
In abundance suffocating.
I neglect to notice an oasis,
The refuge right next to me,
And a soothing tree in the middle of it,
With a story not unlike my own:
***
At the tail end
Of the first week of September,
Had her noble seedling sprouted.
Here she developed:
Pricked and shaken,
Barely a whimper,
In a state of late bloom;
She kept her petals shut,
Locked away and stuck,
In search of a light.
With roots gripping the earth
frail,
Asking for one drop to be spared,
She dared to simply take
A breath of air.
While she beat herself up,
For the lack of things forsaken,
With the sight of flowering plants
Hoarding the sky above,
Came a need for a hustle, to catch up.
In the shadow with personal clouds,
She pondered and observed;
What is the right way to navigate this world?
A weightless calm and a frantic
dread,
That both may well accompany drifting afloat?
Versus standing, shoulders broad,
On the one hand chained to a wall?
In a cyclical motion through the
spiral.
Progress with each setback.
Tired exhales became her breath.
Tears her dew.
Reflections light.
A process to take gloom
And convert it to exude bloom.
With perseverance through blows & qualms,
She came to wisdom.
A humble, keystone of a tree.
Spreading fruits for more trees to be;
Her embracing branches, and breezy leaves,
Just her presence in itself became an oasis.
Now, to her who became the sun to
light this lone lune;
In order to bare and make sense of
The thoughts bouncing around inside my head,
I reach out from my cage the only way I know how,
And leave these vague echoes of things bubbling in my chest;
A serenade to My muse or you:
***
When the shattered pieces of
My heart were piercing my lungs,
When the grasp I had on myself
Was losing its grip,
Only you looked beyond the mask of doubts
Before through my fingers it all slipped.
And then, distance be damned,
Reached out a hand,
To pull me up
From the other side of the globe;
Brought warmth to my soul,
Gave me strength to bear the cold,
The will to keep up hope.
When I was losing all I had,
When I couldn’t even trust
What was in my head and chest,
You showed that
The arduous path I was on
Had purpose and destination yet.
I; lost among my mistakes,
You saw care, safety,
And not a single error instead.
As for me, when I look at you,
A snug presence to calm one’s nerves,
Relieve worries,
Soothe cuts and burns,
Always radiating from within,
Is all I see.
So when it was time that
You needed a hand to stay upright,
A voice to drive away noise,
Or a confidant,
I was very glad to requite.
What a fulfilling thought;
To hear the laughter,
Feel the gentle gaze,
See the joyous face,
Of someone you care about.
I thank you,
On behalf of those who silently appreciate;
For to this world, simply who you are
Is of boundless value.
And for me, too.
