Swati Chopra                  

                                        Writer-poet

                                                      

A painted bowl

A painted bowl

a chronicle of life

a micro-earth

its rim, the horizon

its curved insides

the playground

of animals, humans, insects

one turning into another

men growing fangs

and lizard tails

salamanders who love

like you and I

lines, crisscross, zigzag

spirit paths for shamanic flights…

A painted bowl

– a macro-sky

a deep desire

a pit-stomach cry

of earth convulsed

into life,

like this body

fired by breath?

(This poem is inspired by the painted bowled of the Mimbres Indians, who lived in southwest New Mexico until the 12th century.)

²

 

Tears of Light

A solitary tear

clings to the edge

of my left eye

for the longest while…

until I coax it

onto my finger

and hold it up to light…

Have you ever

seen sorrow

luminous and bright

and pain transformed

to unbearable delight?

First light

The fine hair

on the reeds

the delicate drops

of dew

on the bamboo leaf

the flurry of feathers

on birds’ underbellies

the clouds engaged

in erotic embrace

your eyes

my eyes

all catch

this first light

this first warm kiss

between

earth and sky…

²

 

Madwoman of my Heart

The madwoman

runs through the bazaars

And when she finds

thoughts of my Beloved

wandering the muddy lanes,

she swirls and twirls

and throws her arms

up in the sky.

²