Editor's note: This poem has received a nomination for the 2023 Pushcart Prize:
Rented Body
by Janavi Held
I live uneasily
in my rented body
wondering when
the surrogate season
of shadows will pass.
Perishable memories
I have clutched
within this rented vessel;
so many forsaken treasures
slip like blinded angels
through the atoms
of my rented jail.
They do not land on rock;
they come from my bones
like a hurricane,
as my rented flesh is uplifted
by hunger and money
as the two parts
of my soul search for eyes,
for the waterfall,
for the forget-me-nots
to thaw the frozen atmosphere of tears,
for the pale cathedral of doubt
to replace its dead shadow
with a constant heart.
In my rented body
I climb titanic,
twisting stairs,
casting my own shadow
on the torn remnants
of these days,
and mortal fibers,
I’ve torn them
from my rented heart,
those gentle atoms
living as the symbol
of silence,
of forever,
of the Master
of all destroyed things.
~This poem originally appeared in Whispers from Her Deathbed
published with Golden Dragonfly Press. June 3, 2022~
 |
| Photographic Artistic Collage by the poet, Janavi Held |
Janavi Held (1965-2018) was a soulful dancer, artist, poet, photographer and yogini that was suddenly struck with an incurable illness in her forties, and spent the last five years of her life bedridden, writing poems. During that time, Janavi published her first poetry collection Letters to my Oldest Friend: A Book of Poetry and Photography, and had two of her poems shortlisted for the prestigious Hamilton House International Poetry Prize awarded by the University Centre Grimsby, and published in their anthology "Eternal." Janavi also contributed poems to two poetry anthologies, Bhakti Blossoms: A Collection of Contemporary Vaishnavi Poetry and GODDESS: When She Rules: Expressions by Contemporary Women. After a carefree childhood of writing poetry and wandering around with her father’s camera, Janavi dedicated herself to practicing Bhakti Yoga at age nineteen.She held a bachelor’s degree from Goddard College where she studied poetry, photography, and media studies. Janavi passed away at the age of 53 in Colorado, leaving behind a voluminous oeuvre spanning across various mediums of expression.Some of her poems have been compiled into a posthumous poetry collection "Whispers From Her Deathbed" (Golden Dragonfly Press, 2022). You may read more of her poems and view her artwork on her website www.janaviheld.com
Comments
Post a Comment