LETTER TO A TROUBLED MIND by Paraschiva Florescu

In a fierce battle with the mind and its ways, this poem strives to make peace with her...

After a life of declaring war on the mind, repressing and silencing its cries and distractions, this poet realized that the mind is ultimately a servant of God, and befriending her is the greatest gift. The mind needs to catch onto something - and whatever she is being fed, she grabs with urgency and makes it into something colossal. Give her pain, she will nurture it and expand it. Give her God, and you have made it into your greatest friend.

Letter to a Troubled Mind

by Paraschiva Florescu

Dear mind,

Every night you cause my face to be washed with tears that taste of salt.

You throw me in the corners of your chamber like a predator that shreds its prey.

You’ve lured me into an illusion of safety for so long

with your soft comforts from which I wake up fearful and alone.

With a certainty of duality, it is either you or me, it seems.

But it was never me, for you take over like a greedy communist.

We are engaged in a fierce battle, and I am losing.

Yet I know there is one thing that

keeps us together in this darkness we are both in.

The name of God

catches your attention.

Upon hearing it, you look up with eagerness,

and for a second, you let go of my heart.

I can breathe.

And you dress yourself with chaste garments,

cover your head with humility and sing in prayer.

I join in with you, exhausted and pale, and sing with relief.

God distracts you for a second.

It is not for long; the songs stop and you remember me.

You find me there again, ready to surrender to your wicked ways.

I declare peace.

I beg you, please stop.

I am no peril to your grandiose power.

Dear mind, if you let me be your confidant, I promise you stillness.

Paraschiva Florescu:  is a Law student at Edinburgh University, where she also organizes Kirtans and Bhakti Yoga sessions for the student community. Paraschiva is founder of the Krishna Conscious Society, after having graduated from a Kirtan course in the Radhadesh community in Belgium. She is a Bhakti-yoga practitioner, lover of poetry, martial arts, books and rivers, and - of course -the truth. Find more of her poems on her blog, where she publishes regularly. Paraschiva can be reached at para.skevi@yahoo.com.

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