Tag: Poetry

It’s Not Obvious

On By Swarn GillIn Prose and Poetry7 Comments

it’s not obvious
that the stars aren’t revolving around me
it’s not obvious that I’m the one
who’s actually moving
even when I’m sitting here
there is no disproving.
and you’re moving too

it’s not obvious
that I’m not static
as life evolves around me
that time’s dissolving into me
that I too am just another object
subject to vast forces
shaping me at some point
in a universal scaffold.
that is shaping itself

it’s not obvious
that my life isn’t planned
that it isn’t canned
how is it not a map
when there is seemingly no event
in my life that didn’t depend
on an amazing number of
low probability occurrences
subject to the subtlest
of disturbances
making each moment a miracle
in a myriad of possible timelines

I want things to be clearer
maybe hold things nearer
I’m happy and willing
to be the first one
to try and really look at themselves
in the mirror

why is it when one person has a bad day
he’s able to tuck it away
another wants to do good to compensate
and yet another spits bile
and hate
is it all just too late?
or did we never really stand a chance?

because it should be all a
little easier to follow
but there are sharp turns
and hard truths to swallow
with little time to wallow
so if I say
that I want to sit here
and pretend that the stars are going by
and that the moon is smiling
beaming
radiating not reflecting
and that
I like it that way
because it makes beautiful poetry

then
let me

because it’s not obvious to me
that that’s a bad idea

Mother Did You Know

On By Swarn GillIn Prose and Poetry23 Comments

*I dedicate this poem to women in general, but also to my mom, who is an amazing woman and still inspires me to be more to this day.

mother did you know
it’s all your fault
you caused the fall
of man
but them’s the breaks
when you talk to snakes

mother did you know
you’re not quite human
humans should be a male
all those lady parts
aren’t on the chart

mother did you know
that your emotions
make you weak
and at 40 you’re
past your peak
your wisdom
your courage
cause so much fear
that instead of
being vulnerable
they sneer
and jeer

mother did you know
you’re a body – that’s it
one that must submit
and if a man bruises it
beats it broken
it means you really
shouldn’t have spoken

mother did you know
you’re not supposed to enjoy sex
but ironically you always want it
even if you don’t flaunt it
somehow you’re always asking
what you wear is just masking
and if you decide to show it
boy then, they really know it
you don’t even need to give consent
men know what you meant
he would have been such a gent
if you weren’t giving off a scent

mother did you know
you can’t want a career
you have a role
so just put aside your goals
but if you insist on having it all
you’ll have to do it all
I know it’s not fair
it seems insane
but that’s what you get
for not staying in your lane

mother did you know
no other group has survived
so long an oppression
they legislate your bodies
out of your possession
voice suppression
you’ve had witch trials
laws permitting rape
violent threats
should you try to escape
men mutilate you
murder you
send you to slaughter
men say “I love you mom”
then violate somebody else’s daughter

and mother did you know
that every single day
I stand in awe
at how you all persevere
and still manage to
hold your boys near

mother did you know
it’s okay you didn’t tell
me these things
you just loved with
unerring equality
and kindness
patience and
color blindness
taught me spirituality
can break us free
from our prison
and that we can always
do better
if we learn to listen

and mother did you know
as a man I’ve had to
unlearn many things
at times
admitting a hard truth
stings
but then there’s you
whose womb
you made room in
because of you
I know
what it means
to be human

If you’d like to hear me read this poem, click here.

*header image is Claire De Lune” by Audrey Kawasaki

The Necessary Delusion

On By Swarn GillIn Prose and Poetry7 Comments

a bird may soar
to 30,000 feet
but eventually
must stop to eat

this freedom we chase
is only found in delusion
imagine until you sleep
there is no other conclusion

free is a bungee jump
fleeting as you fall
until the cord reminds
you’re tethered to the wall

we are all bound
equally by physical laws
and time has no mercy
on our physical flaws

we are all bound
to consider adjacent souls
each swish of our tail
affects the shoal

maybe being free
is a life without selfishness
growing your compassion
alleviating helplessness

is it possible to find freedom
living within boundaries?
can life break the moulds
forged in nature’s foundries?

maybe we can
for a time
and find
a new kind of rhyme

the burdens
we face
so real
we scrape for escape
from this oppression we feel
and so maybe freedom
is just striking a deal

because surely if we
don’t feel free
for a few moments
and lave in the stream
of a dream
while our spirit foments
life will be drudgery
with nothing but suffering
freedom is our interface
from a reality we’re buffering

and maybe without
this ability
to self-deceive
we would never know
what we could ever achieve

Life in Equations

On By Swarn GillIn Prose and Poetry17 Comments

time doesn’t care for me
gravity weighs on me
preys on me

degradation
loss of lubrication
wearing away of tissue
friction becomes an issue
the grinding in my groan
hysteresis in my bend
and bone

vessels weaken
thin
how long can my heart win
against endless pumping
glitches in the pattern’s
thumping

neural pathways fray
in withered grey
more and more circuits
misfire each day
approaching cognitive disarray

I am life
subject to physical law
and though I head
towards death’s maw
with weakened knees
I stand in awe
even with all our frailty
and flaws

A year of conversation

On By Swarn GillIn Prose and Poetry14 Comments 
                        When I knew you
                           I was spring
Ready for rebirth
For things to begin anew
                                     Hope penetrated my soil
                                     You beamed at me
                                      Love blossomed
                         When I knew you
                           I was summer
Days were hazy
And lazy flowing
One into the next
                                       Love was carefree
                                       and easy
                        When I knew you
                         I was autumn
                                       Looking back was peaceful
                                       I tried to consume
                                       And store you
Making sure I survived
Cold months ahead
                      When I knew you
                         I was winter
              I needed warmth so badly
                                        I was desperate
                                        Starved in frozen land
Trying to bring some light
To dark days
                          I know you
                    And you know me
                      I am the seasons
            And though seasons change
                     There are threads
                      That bind them
                         I am always
The air you breath
                                          I am day
I am night
                                          I am the sun
I am clouds
Shifting
                                          I am turning
I am stargazing
                                          I am the moon
                                          I have phases
I am gravity
Keeping you grounded
                                          I am wind
                                         Blowing worries away
Love has many parts
Shapes
                                          But I shall keep it safe
                    Always in you arms

*Just FYI this poem is mean to be a conversation. Bolded (or centered) lines are spoken by both people together. This is not meant to be gendered. It’s just about love.

Seven Reasons You Can’t Take It With You

On By Swarn GillIn Prose and Poetry3 Comments

Not sure
if you heard the buzz
but I’m the best
there ever was

Jeff Bezos?
I have more wealth
and surely I’m in
better health

Sturgeon caviar, white truffles
Wagyu steak
I eat as much
as my body can take

Everyone talks of Bill Gates
and his fucking NGOs!
That idiot doesn’t watch
where his money goes!

Elephant bull’s ivory tusks
over my bed
Cut the head off myself
after I shot it dead
they say it’s going extinct
I really don’t care
How ’bout I leave it to you
to say a prayer?

The hookers love being mounted
where it’s mounted
I hire so many
I can’t even count it

Look at you judging me
accuse me of greed
If people weren’t so lazy
they wouldn’t be in need

So go away, write your story
my chest feels tight
I’m annoyed by your questions
take off and goodnight

Where’s my servants?
Where is my phone?
That skank reporter left
and I need to get blown

Is that screaming outside?
Can’t the poor stop whining?
The noise is
infernal

Is the thermostat broken?
my staff is a shambles
a nuisance
eternal

Before Dark

On By Swarn GillIn Prose and Poetry8 Comments

She is not sure
if there are others of her kind
She imagines there must be

looking ahead She sees
the atmospheric window open up
the Earth is enjoying a cool evening

She strides with the
turning Earth
sometimes a little faster
sometimes a little slower
Her cape is midnight blue
it shimmers soft
in particles of light
cheating over the horizon

majestic and grim is Her face
proud, lonely
duty-bound

I walk with Her
and She tells me
I don’t owe anything
to the sky anymore
there are going to be stars
and likely a moon
but nobody is watching

it can be time for lingering looks
for dancing with bodies
loose as the wind
a time for kisses
that last too long
no reason for regrets
and then the peace of sleep

but if you don’t want that
She doesn’t judge

when I can no longer
keep pace with Her
She says
the night forgives
and Lady Dusk
pulls the dark night
like a blanket over
my head

Atmospheric Disturbances

On By Swarn GillIn Prose and PoetryLeave a comment

Along the westerlies
on that jet you see
you came to me
I stumbled topside-down
moving north and south
the words out of your mouth
and gathered the clouds

feet were cold
to your hot
we met at the boundary

you go low
I go high
and we’ll swirl around the sky
rain rolls in
rain rolls past
bad weather never lasts

we’ll rain down
to the ground
Find some dew
together
me and you

we are the lifeblood
of Earth

Immolation

On By Swarn GillIn Prose and Poetry10 Comments

the heat and the fire
boiled water in the trees
bark cracked
singed
exploded
brought the forest to its knees

the heat and the fire
bellowed ash up to the skies
dimming light
obscuring
clouding
shrouding blue in disguise

the heat and the fire
flee animals! to rock and field!
the nest
the burrow
the leaves
head hangs, hopeless, fate sealed

the heat and the fire
people left all that they earned
praying
hoping
the charring
so many memories are burned

the heat and the fire
brave fighters do all they can do
not enough
all gone
razed
none living today
will see it
anew

The Foolhardy Captain

On By Swarn GillIn Prose and Poetry4 Comments

Desperation
or elation
what drives me to
my destination?

Captain of fools
on turbulent seas
Melville’s Ahab’s got
nothing on me

I see your defenses
typhoon pushing swells
testing tenuous mettle
Where courage dwells

I hearken back
to days that I swore
my wreckage would never
return to your shores

But here I am alone
on the ocean again
though shaky sea legs
remember the pain

So I sail weather wary
my strength is amiss
my mind on the maelstrom
and the briny abyss

Through the heart of chaos
I’ll make for the eye
take my dreams to the depths
for surely I’ll die

Feature photo: Painting, Ship on Stormy Seas by Ivan Ayvanosky