The embers remind me of my body,
These logs with their withered skin,
Are turning into ash as I watch.

The same crackling noises
That my fat will make,
When I will burn along the Ganga.

Most people want to live a 100 years
Yet, not know what to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
I read that somewhere, can’t put a citation.

Old is grandma, a tree with deep roots,
With a limb broken.
Living with that image of her daughter eaten by cancer.

She planted seeds of wisdom in my head.
Still it has taken me a lifetime to become whole again,
Why did I feel broken in the first place?

Nothing ever really matters,
Not even that stretched belly button
Or that persistent scab on the hand.

Cook, clean, work, fight myself and others.
Repeat.
And, thankfully, die just once?

But, how will I convince the ungrateful little ones –
With their desire for the phone and the internet.
Always, mistaking my duties for their rights.

Well, didn’t I too tread on my parents’
Unfinished dreams to come this far?
Not even my mother’s child in terms of her sacrifices.

What else am I here for,
Than to repackage the gifts I’ve been given,
And leave them for others to discover.

Harry said it best. Cats, cradles and silver spoons.
Old is “When are you coming home dad?” becomes,
“When are you coming home son?”

 

 

Composed on 03/31/2023

 

 

 

– 0 –

 

About The Article Author:

Hi, I’m Rachana. Its been my dream for years to do something to consciously create a better future where every one of us is excited about our own potential. My challenge to everyone is that they aspire for their personal best and leave a legacy of their work through their contributions to mankind.

One more thing. In December of 2044, I hope to win the Nobel.

Will you join me on this journey of growth and transformation?
Namasté.

Poetry

 

Human life without some form of poetry is not human life but animal existence. ~ Randall Jarrell

Momentous: A Poem On The Value Of Time

Momentous: A Poem On The Value Of Time

*   It’s not the lack of money that makes me cry like my heart is about to burst.You want to know what it is?   It’s something you have or don’t more than I do, because there’s no straight finish line here.It ticks away silently mocking our indignant ways...

read more
ప్రియ శరణార్థీ! నా జీవితం ఇలా నడవనీ.. (Dear Refugee, My Life Must Go On..)

ప్రియ శరణార్థీ! నా జీవితం ఇలా నడవనీ.. (Dear Refugee, My Life Must Go On..)

-   The original English version: Dear Refugee, my life must go on..  This poem appeared originally in The Saaranga Magazine HERE.    -   నన్నల్లుకున్న వెచ్చని కార్డిగన్, మెత్తని నా అరచేతుల మధ్య పొగలు కక్కే ‘లికరస్’ టీ........... పౌర హక్కుల్ని...

read more
Why Darkness Can Be a Gift – A Poem By Rachana

Why Darkness Can Be a Gift – A Poem By Rachana

As humans, we are wired to create and not consume. And that's why when we create a piece of art, we feel alive. This poem is a tribute to the struggle of creating something out of nothing.    - Want To Listen To The Article Instead?  -   Years ago, you...

read more
Dear Refugee, My Life Must Go On.. – A Poem By Rachana

Dear Refugee, My Life Must Go On.. – A Poem By Rachana

- 0 -   The translated Telugu version: ప్రియ శరణార్థీ! నా జీవితం ఇలా నడవనీ.. This poem appeared originally in The Saaranga Magazine HERE.    -   It's not too unthinkable,sipping licorice tea in my cardigan,And day dreaming of a life of civil liberties....

read more
Momentous: A Poem On The Value Of Time

Momentous: A Poem On The Value Of Time

-   It's not the lack of money that makes me cry like my heart is about to burst.You want to know what it is?   It's something you have or don't more than I do, because there's no straight finish line here.It ticks away silently mocking our indignant ways...

read more
Perceiving My Anthropology

Perceiving My Anthropology

-   I don't know what moves him.I remember the day he came back home tohide his red eyes behind that newspaperafter he lit his mother's pyre.This is the man, the brunt of all my emotions,whose lifetime fits in this poem.   It's mostly the appalling nature of...

read more
To My Estranged One

To My Estranged One

-   Ok, I admit; I still have that shameful longingness.When you gathered everything else up and left me to myself, And, when the war of words ended, It was clear that the love between us had begun to show cracks.It would never happen to me, was the conviction I...

read more
Yours Singularly – A Love Poem By Rachana

Yours Singularly – A Love Poem By Rachana

Want to listen to me read it? -   Always close by my side, he mocks me.Calling the lack of endearment around me,self-inflicted.Late in the afternoon, at work,“This team of people around you just need you tobreak their bread”, he mulls. At the bar,he demands to...

read more
Still Standing, Still Standing..

Still Standing, Still Standing..

-   The below is a first person account of a village tree who lost the friendship of a small boy to the big charm of the city..    -   At day break, I wait for your shrill cries of laughter to pierce my ears..I ponder while I drink the primary cocktail,a...

read more
error: Content is protected !!

Discover more from Rachana Nadella-Somayajula

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading