Journey of the Heart

Woman You want me to shrink to ease your pain To bow my head in shame? Because your shame is buried deep beneath your ancestral ash Let Ganga take your piety and wash it well. I will stride as my mother does and speak my words In strange tongues. I have held my belly and bawled When karmic leela bludgeoned The fragile heart within me. My arrhythmic soul Can only dream but Faith is my lineage. Rubescent rivers flow from my story and I fly proudly my red jandhi. You may cremate your shame Let your Maya choke it, smother it, hide it for now. My weighted flight ponders your casket of belief But the sun is in my eye And my bindi whispers Fly.       *   *   * A Jandhi is the flag flown from a bamboo rod to signify the victorious completion of a holy ceremony or puja. Lila (Hinduism) or Leela can be loosely translated as the "divine play. Maya is the Hindi word for illusion. A Bindi is a decorative mark worn in the middle of the forehead by Indian women, especially Hin...

April Blue     This is when we search for color to transform cold grey. Rainfall begins its magic  high lighting sky blue.   We see stacks of luminous clouds as plants pop out and forsythia  bursts into sparkling yellow stalks. Just today a breath of warmth brought alive crepe myrtle buds.   Aromatic lilac bushes cluster in soft bunches while birds and bugs encircle them.  Ten pretty trees all dressed up in lustrous greens boogie through noontime breezes.   Get ready for this blast-off of spring! Green Rain I woke up looked out my window and saw green  pouring down.   Trees cascading over emerald grass.   This noon swollen wet bursting water.   Now even heaven is tinted jade  as birds linger  under branches  listening. Joan McNerney :   Joan's poetry is found in many literary magazines such as Seven Circle Press, Dinner with the Muse, Poet Warriors, Blueline, and Halcyon Days.  Four Bright Hil...

Life’s Breath   The humid night air breathes life Wraps you in his black velvet That warms you by the crackling fire pit And Promises you a yellow sunny tomorrow.   If you listen, you will hear his song Of crickets chirping and frogs croaking by the pond. Animals moving in the Brush-A mother deer and her fawn Peering out safe one more night from man’s harm.   Still in the silence we all sit in unity Around The orange flames dancing Tell stories and recite poetry with open mike. Each one Creative-Each tell their stories   Of Dreams-Hopes-Love But together in union we join Spiritually As one heartbeat throbbing into the night. And in this moment, we are all of one spirit- one heart.   As we join with the black soil of the earth We feel the peace-the serenity And thank God for this moment shared Now frozen within time   We will later tell stories of it The funny things that were said And the not so funny as well How we captured it on the painted canvas   ...

Coming to Terms “Around here, he took his last breath” said her uniformed companion  and retreated.   the emptiness of a horrifying decade ambushed her…   slowly, softly  grief - pain - anger flowed wet the soil drenched by his blood     Spent, empty, she looked up    a glance met hers on the searing line of loss two sons dead  two mothers mourning   understanding crossed the border barbed wires became loops of compassion two knowing hearts wordlessly sealed a bond of forgiveness Shernaz Wadia  is a retired teacher now living in Pune, India.  Reading and writing poems, has been one of the means for her to embark on an inward journey. She hopes her words will bring peace, hope and light into dark corners.  Her poems have been published in many Indian and international e-journals and anthologies. She has published her own book of poems "Whispers of the Soul" and two volumes of "Tapestry Poetry - A Fusion of Two Minds" with h...

She Chose the Path of Beauty     She chose to stay close to nature  and walk the path of beauty every day.  She finds her power walking  through the trees in quiet solitude  and has a big smile every time  she encounters wild animals.  She stops at the big fir tree  and connects with its ancient energy.  She wraps her arms around its wide trunk  and breathes in the clean air the plants release.  She bows her head to salute the trees  and dances along with the wind  sweeping through the lush forest.  She stops when she hears footsteps  and slows her breath down  to minimize the noise she makes.  To her delight mother deer appeared  with a baby wearing Bambi’s colors.  They chew fervently on fresh leaves  as she is standing quiet and still  like a statue until they pass by her.  She remembers on every walk  how wonderful it is to live here where she can have these magic ...

How Not to Take in Fear   Find a quiet path to walk alone. See how ocean waves roll with the pull of a capricious moon, and the ancient oak holds ground in a thrashing wind. Fling praise up to vultures  circling overhead. Bow like nature to the coin tosses of circumstance.   Consider a tree for a confidante.  If the journey leads to water,  count on faith to help you  swim safely to the far shore. Climbing a tall mountain  is a great remedy for fear;  stride upward until you feel  the generosity of Mother Earth.  New muscles will evolve gently,  proving you are stronger than any fear. How to Know Faith   Before you can know faith,  you must bear a message that knocks you to your knees,   endure a shock that takes breath away, like diving into raging ocean  waves on an icy winter’s day,   although the blow may bring  a blessed numbing, amputating  most sensation left within,   time will melt th...