Murmurs of Aspiration — 1

For Thou hast denied, shall I succumb?
Of what price is virtue if Thou leavest?
Is vice Thy instrument, vice that clings
And bleeds us to death.

Beloved, Thou hast thy hordes
To carry thy task
Pursue and plunder our becomings.
But us, snatch not our voices.

Believe, in the voices of our anguish
Is prayer more potent
Than the penance of the virtuous.

Is it thee I seek?
I have lurked, a shadow
Amidst the ruins of Night.
Seeking that of which I have no grasp.

Is it that, is it Thee?
Startled, thou leavest and I pursue
But thine is the Night.

Is it that, is it thee?

(Painting Courtesy — Priti Ghosh)