Skip to main content

I AM by Shivana Sharma

In the Hindu tradition Dhar is in its simplest form a liquid offering made to the Divine…

My expression of my love, my poetry is my Dhar.

For me, my poem offering below is my looking beyond my physical challenges. It looks deep within my heart, my soul and speaks to the smallness I feel at times, my insignificance, my struggle. Even more beautiful are the glimpses of my joy that I offer unreservedly to the light.

I am


I am my own soul
I am not the scream of the eagle
As he scrapes the sky
Though I scream at heaven
And hell too
I am the not the gust of stifling wind
That pushes hope to its knees 
And blows ash into the eyes of the dreamer
I am not the lily 
Nor the rose
There is no touch
No taste
No scent of beauty
I am not the proud noble mountain
I am the valley
The desert
The stone
I am not the spirit of the song
I am but one note
Quavering
Harsh
And softly sweet
I am the starless night sky
The thorn, the feather
The petal too
I am my soul
My smile
My tears
The black red blood 
That joyously spills when I am quartered
I am the longing for the light that waits
On the other side 
Of you
I am the certain dawn
I am tomorrow
I am my soul.


Shivana Sharma: "I have been an educator for the last thirty three years and I am the Principal of a Primary School in Trinidad and Tobago. I am a single mother of two beautiful daughters. My writing is something that I have been doing for quite some time. I have never been published and I am in the process of writing my first children’s book. I look forward to losing my fear and opening up more of me...to me. I am a Spiritual wanderer just trying to find my way back home, to the source of all light. I believe in Grace under pressure, and looking for beauty in everything and everyone. To me the most joyous sound is that of a child’s laughter. Everyone deserves Peace, to feel safe and to be happy and I know that love can conquer all, if one is lucky enough to be able to give and receive its Blessing."

~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~ 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

IMAGINE A WOMAN by Patricia Lynn Reilly

  This poem invites you to look upon yourself with loving kindness… Gazing at your own true reflection, you will discover that everything you have longed for “out there” is already within you! I invite you to love your creativity fiercely. Faithfully plant seeds, allowing under-the-ground dormant seasons, nurturing your creative garden with love and gratitude. In the fullness of time, the green growing things thrust forth from the ground. It's a faithful, trustworthy process. AND it takes time and patience.  Blessed is the fruit of your creative womb! I invite you to trust your vision of the world and express it. With wonder and delight, paint a picture, create a dance, write a book, and make up a song. To give expression to your creative impulses is as natural as your breathing. Create in your own language, imagery, and movement. Follow no script. Do not be limited by the customary way things have been expressed. Your creative intuition is original. Ga...

STILL I RISE by Maya Angelou

Six years ago, I had the privilege of listening to Maya Angelou speak live on the value of poetry at the University of Florida. I share these reflections with you again today, in honor of her birthday.  I was relieved to get one of the last seats available for this rare event, having arrived at five for Maya Angelou ’s free speech at eight. The historically long line began with people settled into beach chairs in winter coats busying themselves on tablets, or eating sandwiches for dinner. As helicopters hovered above and newscasters below, I felt the excitement of realizing that thousands of people were gathering together to hear an eighty four year old black woman recite her poetry! Maya Angelou speaking at University of Florida on Feb. 27, 2013  When the curtain rose -after an overflow of hundreds were sent away- we lucky ones on the inside greeted Maya with a standing ovation, as she smiled sweetly, beginning her talk using metaphors from nature. Maya asked...

MIRABAI'S POETRY by Caitanya Dasi

Much of the mystic love poetry from India revolves around musical and theatrical expressions that portray the loving relationship between the soul and God… One such celebrated relationship was that between princess Mirabai and her divine beloved, Krishna. Born in the sixteenth century  into a noble Rajput family, Mirabai married into a family that did not take fondly to her devotion to God. Consequently, she went from royalty to mendicant, and decorated her spiritual path with poetic songs. I first heard of the great poet, Mirabai in the early 1970’s while I was living and studying bhakti yoga at the Hare Krishna temple in Los Angeles, California.  As I had a background in the performance arts Mirabai’s life instantly spoke to me. Her fusion of spiritual sentiments with song resonated with my passion for music, drama, dance, and the devotional path to loving God. In 1968 I serendipitously met a devotee by the name of Mirabai, who taught me that the perfectio...