Category: Poetry

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A Moment of Repose, Jama Masjid Mosque, Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi), New Delhi, India

A Moment of Repose

I take a moment
Just to sit and be
In my own thoughts
My own body

Reflect on the emotions
All bottled up
Which fill me to overflowing

When they come
Leave the sluice gates open

Don’t restrict the flow

Let them wash over me
Allow them to take what they will

The torrent is hard
And full
A tumult of the repressed

When the tide finally ebbs
Walk the flood path
Take stock of the flotsam and jetsam
Retrieve what is dear and useful

Leave whatever is not
After thanking it
For the lessons

Insight comes
But not without its reckonings

And with these comes healing

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Cacophony of Civilization, Jama Masjid Mosque, Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi), New Delhi, India

Cacophony

I exit Jama Masjid’s exquisite tranquil beauty
Take a moment outside on the steps
To put on my shoes
Before stepping down
Into the cacophony of civilization

I was told, by many people
India would be a game-changer
Would alter my understanding of everything
In ways that could not be described
Only experienced

But I’d already spent 6 months
Bicycling across China
How much more
Could my understanding
Be altered?

More than I can describe
To those who have not shared
The experience of India
More than I can even describe
To myself