Maybe you were waiting in an ashen cul-de-sac,
just as broken, battered and bruised as I am,
the scars of yesterday becoming raw wounds
again, sliced by the malice of a myriad tongues,
etching, etching and etching their mark of
hate, while you endured with silent sobs
and a light blue resolve defying a crimson shriek.
Maybe you walked ahead and saw the cathedral,
the twilight grazing its twin crosses with a faint
magnetism, and you were just as drawn,
before your Gazette with its defeats, subtle
beauty and tears, with its cover stripped,
and pages worn or dog-eared, screamed, ‘Don’t!’
Maybe you looked just as hard for love,
and the lines you wrote,
stitched by the elegant pentameter,
but concealing apparitions and appearances of
pain, reflected guttural screams of an,
‘I need…I need…I need…I need…I need,’
but still felt unworthy, undeserving
and unsuitable like a songbird in a cage,
plagued by Stockholm Syndrome—
the visions of burnt landscapes and
charred trees, becoming a false savior
promising you riches but giving you delusions.
Oh, how I wish you’d found me,
and how I wish that we’d transcended together,
rising like a Phoenix from the ashes,
over the maddening crowd who nods
to Falsity speaking, saying, ‘You are enough,’
and instilling in them an egotistical ardor
that’s insatiable. No darling, I’m not enough
without you and how I wish I held you,
whom I never knew.
Partly inspired by ‘You who never arrived,’ by Rainer Maria Rilke
© Nitin Lalit Murali (2018)
beautiful!
Thank you so much!
Your writings move me like a sudden chill. Always provoking a dead slice of mind.
Beautiful and resonating!
Thank you so much Devika. I’m so glad that my words moved you and you were able to resonate with them.
My pleasure, always!
Beautifully written. Even Rilke could have nothing but praise for this lovely poetry.
Thank you so much Holly. That’s such a kind and generous comment.
You’re welcome. Well deserved!
Achingly beautiful!
Thank you so much Betty!
So many great lines and phrases! As usual, I love your raw descriptions that help us all to feel as deeply as you do.
Thank you so much Chelsea. I’m so glad that you were able to feel the poem. That’s my chief aim when I write.