Imaginal
In Memoriam of the Eternal
I closed
the eyes of my mind
sitting bare
and jasmine-eared
white cotton draped
wet from the cold morning
bath, cross-legged child
purified before the altar
seeking abundance
the cosmos and I
bend as one
aligning in congruence
piercing infinity
with red bricks and scripture
and dry coconut and ghee
and there
shrouded by the grey
incense, by the ritual fire
between leaping licks
of the laden flame
smiling iridescence
a celestial being sits —
bestower and friend
looking beatific at me
an esteemed eternal
now arrived
at my blessed sacrifice
***
Do I imagine them
non-existence conjured
in the mechanical chemistry
of my imaged mind?
Or are they really there
imaginal incarnate
unconsciously etched
by our collective will?
Was there a choice
we once made, wrongly
to kill our gods
to seek them anew
in the world we live in?
Did we once live out
hardened lives
seeking upwards till
we killed them all
deciding to boldly
look downwards?
Seeking new gods
in the here and now
and O, the ugly gods
we have created
along the way
***
And now, here they are
forever again
in my rituals, attending
hallucinating with purpose
and — with meaning
in the religion of science —
a knot in the quantum
field beckoning
at a field at large
redirecting my world line
towards bliss
© Unni Nambiar (Jun 16, 2024)
