WOMAN by Shivana Sharma

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 Hindus.

Shivana Sharma. When people no longer see you, then you have to be heard. The best thing about me is my age and 58 is the least number of reasons I celebrate myself and my breath. As a recent empty nester and grandmother, the pandemic world has directed me further inward. If my daughters find wisdom in my words either today or tomorrow, then I am content, but contentment will never be where I rest my head, when there is exhilaration to be had.

*For submission guidelines, click here. *

Comments

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...

Journey of the Heart

Search This Blog