FREE VERSE
Writings on the sand
Part 1 — tributes to the desert
Burying my feet in the sand
its grains shifted, settling
in the ridges of my toes.
I breathe in the smoke,
the last of everything, waiting
until the clinkers in me are out.
When the fire is dowsed
only the winter moon dithers
to succour or maybe to just watch.
In the ballrooms of late and solemn
around me, the winds pirouette
and the dirt dances away.
I lay the twigs of my limbs
onto the broken, barren ground
planting hope, offering sweat and tears.
My footprints, the tributes,
all these writings on the sand
drip and drain, down and through.
All my prayers echo through the dunes
as the earth soaks the last of me
and I hunker down for the rain.
© Madhuvandhi Ravi 2023
As 2023 is almost over, I am contemplating everything that has changed around me this past year. When this year began, all I hoped for was some good health and a few nights of peaceful sleep, but it has given me much more than that. It has taught me to fish out small joys in my once mundane lifestyle. But most importantly, it has taught me how much patience and persistence eventually pay off.
Wishing everyone more hope and happiness in the new year!
