Sunday, September 29, 2013

nirvana

photo by Mark Haley 
a lone tree in the sharp hillside-
where clouds spill all over it.
that exact spot where the ghosts gathered.
do they worship the tree
or jump off the edges to be alive again?
that stone-laid path is of no use to the dead-
unbidden weeds swarm all over
helping the red hot ghosts to walk silently.
I wish for the patches in the sky to be covered,
taking pictures with my cell phone.
believe me, there were ghosts
but none in the photos
if seeing is believing, then I am a liar

"that image of Buddha in the clouds compelled me-
the story which has holes has to be told,
someday someone will be enlightened"




30 comments:

Srinidhi said...

Love the last four lines! Insanely powerful!

Tess Kincaid said...

I love the notion of clouds spilling...beautiful write...

Tigerbrite said...

Nice bit of mystery here:) I don't think ghosts are photogenic.

Stan Ski said...

I'm a liar too... believe me...

Berowne said...

Skilled and insightful...

Nissa Annakindt said...

I liked the red hot ghosts the best.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Love the idea of the ghosts jumping off to be alive again. Freaky though that would be to witness.

brenda w said...

I love that you brought a cell phone into this...it made it immediate. Your use of the Whirl words is expert, and you respond well to the Mag, too. Brava!!

Kathe W. said...

helping the red hot ghosts to walk silently.....such an image!

daphnepurpus said...

Really enjoyed this! Great images with clouds spilling and ghosts jumping. Love the ending as well!

Natašek said...

interesting imagery... "where the ghosts gathered" - love this part.

Gemma Wiseman said...

Taking pictures with your cellphone adds a touch of 21st century immediacy, wanting somehow to capture the shape of the moment even if the spirit is missing. A grand poem.

Old Egg said...

Of course there were ghosts...they were desperately trying to do what they forgot to do when alive. I loved where your piece took the reader.

steveroni said...

This line: "...if seeing is believing, then I am a liar"
leads me into more thought.
I think that "believing is seeing"
much more than "seeing is believing"
HELLLLP! I going crazy--grin!

LIKE your poem, gautami!

Sabra Bowers said...

Yes, hard to take a picture of a ghost. :)

Silent Otto said...

Love where this took you and thanks for letting me come along for the ride.......
Cheers

Gillena Cox said...

nice write; unbelief is always part of creative offerings

much love...

kaykuala said...

Like the idea of images of the Lord Buddha in cloud formations. It belies a feeling of salvation and inner peace! Nicely Gautami!

Hank

satyasrinivasg said...

the narration is simply good

Marian Veverka said...

Your words have an aura of the unseen but still felt

Kristen Haskell said...

Very Nice work. I see the Buddha too.

Unknown said...

Haunting.

Susan Lindquist said...

I love how you brought the cell phone photographer into this ... so many images within the imagination can never be photographed ...and yet, they're there to see! No lie!

21 Wits said...

Spilling clouds, and ghosts at bay, or so we hope anyway.

Susan Anderson said...

GREAT last line.

=)

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Ghosts are like that damn it!
Anna :o]

Kathryn Dyche said...

Love this, you bring ghosts to life.

Katherine said...

Insightful and well written ... mystical magie!

Truedessa said...

where ghosts gathered..I can almost feel them in the air..

Strummed Words said...

Your poem said quite a lot about the picture. Nice one.