Lesser as I cried softer felt my pain,
When muffled loud sobs soother felt my pain.
With a power-saw I cut me into two,
Gave me solace, the succour soothed my pain.
Dwelling on my hurt and its remedies,
Ever the more severe felt my pain.
Yea, like a dog I chewed on painful bone,
Like a piece of great bother felt my pain.
No one came, no one went, none talked of it,
Nor yet mind mused and smoother felt my pain.
Years passed since hurt happened, and then one day
We laughed together. Whither went my pain?
Some pains are born with us and grow with us,
You age and ere ye know, older gets pain.
____________________________
Ghazal |38.01.2025|pain
Based on a Gujarati piece by Parul Khakhhar, no translation.
They say a poem can never be
As lovely as, can be, a tree.
But what if a tree should be felled
By a dupe with a power saw, hand-held?
I wonder if it would be fair
To, this poem, that tree, compare?
The power saw is screeching,
Interrupting every thought.
I’m sending silent messages,
Which all add up to naught.
Of course, the neighbors have a right
To work around the house,
The same way I’m entitled
To both seethe inside and grouse.
A quiet Sunday afternoon
Was what I’d hoped to get.
Instead, my peace disturbed,
I grit my teeth and moan and fret.
Allegro
Crystal decanter, wine in a glass.
Tabletop woodwinds court candlestick brass.
Fine sterling service, stems in a vase.
High-tone enamel meets low double bass.
Pale yellow roses, peaches and grapes.
Clarinet colors tint saxophone shapes.
Citrus in concert, lemon and lime.
Echoes of summer in three-quarter time.
Adagio
There are brazen implications
In these muted, pulsing horns.
The strings are thick and creamy.
The bass line’s strewn with thorns.
Scherzo
Nail-tap percussion, tremolo drill.
Twelve o’clock whistle sounds cranky and shrill.
Shipping yard sunlight, loading dock shade.
Forklift holds pallet in mid-serenade.
Mustard-stained napkin, Styrofoam cup.
Strains of a power saw being tuned up,
Baritone belt sander wailing away.
White glove allegro turned grease monkey gray.
Rondo
Without darkness, there could be no light.
The sun would rise unnoticed.
Without silence, there could be no song
From either bird or locust.
Without winter, there could be no spring.
No flowers for your lover.
Without music, there could be no art.
They flatter one another.
Yelling their displeasure, my toenails kept me awake
Angry at how I was not trimming them
We are ragged and thick! We are jagged, not ripped!
They chastised me to hell and back. Have they quite flipped?
I promised I would do better if they would let me sleep.
They called me names like idiot, moron, and big creep.
I got up and trimmed them so low, they were now crying.
Walking on them felt excruciating, I was now dying.
I guess that by trying to teach them a lesson, I learned one instead.
Sometimes I am impulsive, do not use my head.
The next time they wake me up, here is the deal.
I am going to grind them all off with a power saw wheel.
It is my wish, let it be given
a badly needed wish it is
that I become a crocodile
to all animals, no crossing
the river and lakeshores
the homely places of mine
It is my wish, a strong one
that I become a power- saw
all those mahoganies, teaks
Baobab trees that boast
thinking they are strong
down I could bring them
It is my wish, a tough one
to show the world one thing
that I am super normal
super human, super brain
ask me why there's green slime
coming out of the spigot in the center of the cemetery
and ask me why i installed a faucet
when i don't know how to
Yes, you do...
ask me why i've cut shapes into my nail beds
so that when my nails grow
there's a pattern of arches in a ladder on them
with no vertical lines
only repeated semicircles that come for years and years
Like latitude lines! around the Earth...
ask me why
outside the door, you heard me talking for hours
when there was no one else in the room
and you stayed and listened because you thought it was funny
you told me telepathically
but you don't remember
well, i never remember anything
That's okay, we all don't...
(Except for me! I remember everything...)
so ask me why
i hear vehicle sounds
come through one ear and out the other
at 4 am when i'm lying in bed
i'm lying
and my father is in our light gray basement
cutting wood and knick-knacks
but i hear aliens, not power saws
Slow down! I don't understand...
and my dad doesn't cut wood
Why do you blabber on and on?
and doesn't even own a power saw
i know, i've tried to find it
A power saw
can slice through wood with awe
cut kindling or make a table leg
or staves for a wine keg
just make sure you get your digits out of the way in time
or you may be using your fingers only to count to nine.
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