
My hands were tied to a pole and I couldn’t speak
You see, the only way I could speak was through a language I hadn’t yet deciphered
My days went on, in a shell of thoughts
When out there, was an ocean waiting to devour me
People often stood long enough by the pole – long enough to let the streetlight lick their sins away
Until one of them untied me accidentally
And I traversed within after he ran away, so deep within that I didn’t even know that there was a path underneath my feet
People often talk about the ground slipping from under their feet, but have you ever felt it slipping right back?
I did
And so did the words itching the insides of my body
And the poems begging to crawl into the ocean
And so, I wrote – never stopping once, never looking back at the pole and those delicate strings of a self-made prison;
I took the path not meant for me, but the one I had been meaning to take anyway.
-Nameera Anjum Khan
Day 2 prompt was inspired by the famous and much loved compose by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken. It took me back to a time when I was still a novice at writing and didn’t exactly measure its importance in my life. Years later, I can proudly say that the person I am today is because of the choices I made, despite the paths that lay ahead of me.
I’ve been confused and lonely at times, but I always made sure that whatever it is that I do, my heart and my soul is in agreement at the end of the day.
Following your heart is easier said than done, especially in a world that’s always out there to complicate things.
Poems begging to crawl into the ocean is a wonderful metaphor. Our souls operate in Tidal force!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed! Thank you so much.
LikeLike
An ocean of arms poetically writing the sea of words that’s flushing to get out, the tidal wave of emotion you pour onto your writing is beautifully expressed.🌹❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey! Thank you so much!! It’s so great to finally catch up with you. How are you??
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very welcome🌹🌹. I’ve been good, missed you, how have you been?😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m doing good! Just very busy studying for my finals 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, nice lovely..glad to hear you’re doing fine and staying safe. Keeping busy is a good thing and happy to see you find time to write, it’s important to do what you love.❤️. Good luck on your finals🌹🌹
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, I don’t think I can ever do away with writing – exams or no exams 🤗 Thank you for the sweet wishes, means a lot!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very welcome🌹😊
LikeLike
I liked your poem, Nameera. I actually have also written a short piece that was inspired by this same painting by Vladimir Kush (And I have written many other stories inspired by his paintings.) Here it is:
A Presence of Absence
Some people are defined more by their absence than by their presence, their vacancy having more intensity and power than their being. When these people leave you, their absence acquires distinctive characteristics that their presence never possessed. The presence of their absence assumes a reality all of its own, becoming almost tangible. You find yourself developing meaningful and happy relationships with the vacuities you never enjoyed when in the presence of the actualities.
Other people exist only as outlines, defined by the presence of others around them and when the others are gone, these people fade into nothingness.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is such an apt interpretation of this painting, thank you for sharing this with me!!
Indeed, Vladimir Kush is a wonderful artist. His paintings are truly evocative, they never fail to move me.
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your wonderful piece, this really means a lot to me 😀
LikeLike
Thank you Nameera! I am glad you liked my piece. If you wanted to take a look, here’s an album of some of the stories that I have written inspired by Vladimir Kush’s paintings:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150373427033173&type=3
LikeLiked by 1 person
I read one of the pieces from your collection, ‘The Moneyed Universe’ and it was truly a very timely read! I enjoyed it very much and can’t wait to go through others as well (:
LikeLike
Thank you also for “liking” my poem “A Litany of Delusions” on the Pen to Paper blog.
https://lunatheblog.com/2021/04/03/a-litany-of-delusions/
Were there any delusions that you could relate to in particular?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think as a whole, all of it was pretty relatable. However, I particularly related to the last one (I presume it was last one) about being under the delusion that we’re not under any delusion. That is like, the magnum opus of the entire piece as well as our lives, in a way. The way we perceive reality is simply a borrowed version that has been passed throughout History. How much of the knowledge we possess is truly ours? I do not know. I mean, our ruminations and opinions could be ours solely but they’re not, in the sense that they emanate from the already existent truth – the reality we’ve been watching all along. Once again, we’re back at it; the delusion of life.
No need to mention, I thought it was really profound!
LikeLike
Thank you for taking the time to read another one of my stories inspired by Vladimir Kush, Nameera, appreciate it. It might be easier to communicate by email. You can find my email address here: https://bozlich.wordpress.com/about/
LikeLike
Thank you also for your further thoughts about “A Litany of Delusions”. I would like to tell you a bit more about this piece, but it would be easiest to do it by email, if that’s OK with you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course, it’s okay! I’m sorry for the late response, I haven’t been spending much time here.
LikeLike
Nameera, you can find my email address here: https://bozlich.wordpress.com/about/
I look forward to hearing from you and having a dialogue by email.
LikeLike
btw, have you seen any paintings by the artist Michael Cheval? He is another artist who has inspired a lot of stories in me and we are working on a book together, his paintings and my stories. You can see some of his paintings, together with my stories, here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.432452203172&type=3
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sure! I’ll check out his work 🙂 I haven’t really heard of him
LikeLike