Thank you, Brendan. Yeah, WP is pretty much flat which is why I moved to Substack. Am curating 10 years of archives there which is a mammoth exercise on its own. I've been here three months...it is more vibrant, no doubt, but it is hard to build a community from scratch.
Thanks so much, Rebecca. The cherry blossoms made me think of beautiful things and permanence and how everything changes - even the things we think don't.
How wonderful to feel the longing in this poem and how it is "tethered to a timetable." I like the progression from love to poet to poem, and how the poem itself may watch generations go by, and , of course, the poem's "concentric circles" and "metered shadow."
Thanks so much, Susan. I'm looking at the memoir poems almost 2 years after they were written. I think I'm finally ready to sit and edit the whole series. Soon!! (first the blog curation, though)
So beautiful, too many gorgeous lines to repeat. I concur with the thought that our transcience lends a special poignancy to the beauty around us. And I LOVE "Like tree rings, a poem cut open can tell you its age." Wow!
Is ephemerality an intrinsic part of unbearable beauty?
I think of Nick Cave’s Where the Wild Roses Grow…
Is Nick Cave talking about this kind of unbearable beauty when he says that all beauty must die? Is this death exercised for the inherent unbearableness of beauty itself?
With each poem you put forth, you water questions that await their eventual flourishing, Rajani. That’s quite beautiful.
Thank you, Mahdi...am searching for answers through the poems...sometimes I find them, sometimes asking is all I can do :) Perhaps beauty can be appreciated only in small doses...only as a contrast to the ugliness of life... anything else would be just a pretence. ( I just googled the lyrics of that song...such a violent and sad story.... )
Thank you, Brendan. Yeah, WP is pretty much flat which is why I moved to Substack. Am curating 10 years of archives there which is a mammoth exercise on its own. I've been here three months...it is more vibrant, no doubt, but it is hard to build a community from scratch.
Beautiful!
Thanks so much, Martha. Life-altering experience, watching those petals fall like pink rain...
The way nature fulfills itself absolutely stuns me all the time.
Omgorgeous 😍
Thanks so much, Mike!!! (And I love the word you've used...it should be mainstreamed!)
You're so welcome 😌
There are poems about yearning and then there are poems inviting you to yearn. And so you must.
Thank you, Rena...what a lovely thing to say!!!
Gorgeous. Wonderful movement. Love the poem being cut open like a tree! Such solid work.
Thanks so much, Rebecca. The cherry blossoms made me think of beautiful things and permanence and how everything changes - even the things we think don't.
Deep ponderings for my morning...
Thank you, Namratha... travel does that - brings out the philosopher and sage in us - and existential panic!!!
Existential panic is true for me!
Which is fertile ground for poetry...hope to see new poems soon!!!
This poem falls like welcome rain. 🤍
Thank you, Jennifer. That is such a lovely thing to say. Much appreciated.
"Like tree rings, a poem cut open
can tell you its age. "
Your poem transported me back. And I sigh and sigh. Maybe eyes a bit misty too. Thank you for this, Rajani.
Oh Nazish, thanks so much... hope the sighs give way to pleasant memories and old poems that smile. 😍
I love these exquisite observations, Rajani. A refuge from the noise.
Richard, that is so kind. Thank you so much for reading and observing with me.
"trellis of quiet words peering into the water." So many lovely moments in this poem.
Thank you for reading, Laura. So glad you liked it.
And thank you for following me back. I have read many of your posts and found much to admire.
I look forward to reading more of your work, Laura. Thank you. 🙏
". . . extended longing, an occasional
alleviation. Like raindrops. Or love."
How wonderful to feel the longing in this poem and how it is "tethered to a timetable." I like the progression from love to poet to poem, and how the poem itself may watch generations go by, and , of course, the poem's "concentric circles" and "metered shadow."
Thanks so much, Susan. I'm looking at the memoir poems almost 2 years after they were written. I think I'm finally ready to sit and edit the whole series. Soon!! (first the blog curation, though)
So beautiful, too many gorgeous lines to repeat. I concur with the thought that our transcience lends a special poignancy to the beauty around us. And I LOVE "Like tree rings, a poem cut open can tell you its age." Wow!
Thank you, Sherry. Yes, the cherry blossoms reflect our own mortality and how we too can live in softness and beauty for the moments we are here...
Is ephemerality an intrinsic part of unbearable beauty?
I think of Nick Cave’s Where the Wild Roses Grow…
Is Nick Cave talking about this kind of unbearable beauty when he says that all beauty must die? Is this death exercised for the inherent unbearableness of beauty itself?
With each poem you put forth, you water questions that await their eventual flourishing, Rajani. That’s quite beautiful.
Thank you, Mahdi...am searching for answers through the poems...sometimes I find them, sometimes asking is all I can do :) Perhaps beauty can be appreciated only in small doses...only as a contrast to the ugliness of life... anything else would be just a pretence. ( I just googled the lyrics of that song...such a violent and sad story.... )
@jared mulhair Thanks for the restack, Jared.
I like how the poem always has its own identity, its own life in your words. (K)
Thanks so much, K. This poem was part of the memoir series I wrote in 2023...covered a lot of my travels, among other things!
Your poem is achingly beautiful. The pain of change, yet the magnificence of it. This one is for keeps, Rajani. I love it.
Thanks so much, Sonia. Glad you liked this one!!