'The most dangerous of all negativity is anxiety, self abuse and untruth.'
One
The skies thundered in fresh outburst,
I believe it were blood that rained, fury,
Higher than all sense of indignity is
the wrath of Ein Sof* and his creed.
The realm shifts, obscure patterns change,
A satanic indulgence reforms the world,
But the anxiety over self-motives still remain,
The skies settle, it begins to rain.
Two
Constantly assuring that my hands aren't
red with the blood of comrades is a habit,
But in an unruly battle, no choices are left,
When even death is a masterful theft.
I notice the dark shadows beneath my eyes,
I am wary of the doubt that creeps, clawing
into the threshold of peaks unclimbed,
There I see a spot untouched, it bears the tag
'FINISH', furnished because I shall never reach.
Three
The blind world continued its walk,
With a stick pointed up,
No soul shall stutter nor fall,
In front of them an obliterated world, but
for them the stick is salvation, the truth!
*Ein Sof - in Kabbalah, is understood as God prior to His self-manifestation in the production of any spiritual realm. Ein Sof may be translated as "no end", "unending", "there is no end", or infinite.
FINISH is a strong message...
ReplyDeletethe doubt that creeps in...we have to be wise of it and measure it against our known truths
so that it does not undermine who we are...
cool quote too.
Thank you Brian!
DeleteThis sounds like classic poetry, Anand. One to be studied and thought about, line by line. I must admit to not being familiar with "Ein Sof." In the second stanza, I am also struck by the word 'finish,' as I think none of us ever reach the finish in our lifetime. We strive, but it is always out of reach somehow. In the last stanza I am struck by the 'stick.' Blind people often have a stick pointed down (to find their way), so I am wondering about this stick pointing up. Perhaps toward eternity / heaven? Anyway, a thought-provoking poem here, Anand. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMary,
DeleteThanks for that. And for clarifications.
For Ein Sof, I think you would get apt knowledge from wiki : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ein_Sof
FINISH has never been reached by the narrator, he sees it a fair distance away, again he says he shall never reach there.
And the people are blind because of what they see, they take their eyes off obliteration and uses the stick to see a better world (in the context pointing up has been implied not to heaven but to afterlife) that awaits them. In a way, it is pathetic, hoping for something rather than changing your immediate surroundings.
Wow! This poem/narrative of/by three demons resonates whether or not one know the Kabbalah reference or the three points in your sub-title line. I love the recognition that the inward battle is a distraction from God, that we stand Job-like in that morass with little help from our neighbors. Crisp, compact, beautifully pointed, this three part poem is great!
ReplyDeleteDeeply mystical words. Nice one.
ReplyDeleteVery thought-provoking poem, Anand! I think that the 'demon' that most resonates with me is the second one. A most powerful read!
ReplyDeleteYou describe the demons well and they do destroy our ability to be present in the only now that we have. Would that we could point the stick outward, rather than up or down...realizing that to know self is the only way to know others. Then the demons might become the prophets they were perhaps meant to be.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Very thought provoking write Anand,with a very powerful message. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete'But in an unruly battle, no choices are left,
ReplyDeleteWhen even death is a masterful theft.'.........when I read these lines I could only think of the current political affairs of our land...
So many great lines, but "no choices are left,
ReplyDeleteWhen even death is a masterful theft." is a wowzer!