Tag: Prose

Poem: Man, The Creator

Arshan Dhillon

Before the self-hate, self-love, self-care,

before the self-awareness,

before the self-consciousness,

man was part of nature,

an animal without dread or hope.

 

The initial drop of awareness sent ripples throughout the mind,

ripples that colored the world,

vibrant with pain and suffering,

magnetic with death and destruction,

dynamic with love and care.

 

Simple realities of life now labeled,

now dreaded, now hopeful,

now feared, now craved,

detached from nature.

 

Man stands head and shoulders above the other beings,

the head constantly looking over the shoulder,

look for death,

his creation,

man is God.

Poem: Out of Sight

Arshan Dhillon

The flowers bloom out of sight,

the sun rises out of sight,

the sun sets out of sight,

the gathering clouds, the soft rain, the waving grass blades,

nature’s call,

out of sight, out of sight.

 

She sits by herself, her

shawl wrapped around her, comforting

cotton material, what

she needs is the comforting touch of her fellow being, but

pride is damming, also

the lack of awareness is prevalent, as

man goes about their day.

 

Men with diamonds around on their wrists,

women with diamonds around their necks,

her eyes avoiding her own reflection,

as people double click the pictures on injustice on their phones,

sipping on their drinks,

while she thirsts for aid.

 

Too many animals walking around, not

enough humans, too

many concerned about themselves, their

own looks, their own bank account, their own desires, not

enough who can empathize with the desperate others, even

though everyone knows the desperation, and

in their own time of desperation craved another’s compassion.

 

“How are you?”

“Are you okay?”

She talks to herself,

answering herself,

practicing a smile,

to match that of the surrounding people,

so she feels part of the crowd,

and not alone,

as she sits alone,

out of notice,

out of care,

out of sight,

wandering animals around her.

 

Poem: Life, Simplified

Arshan Dhillon

Bogged down with meaning,

need for it to be more,

obsessing over purpose,

spiritual crisis,

dramatic thoughts, dramatic feelings, dramatic emotions,

but the play of life can be observed daily,

how to act, how to be, how to live,

lookup,

the sun rises without complaint,

spends it’s time giving light and warmth to others,

then it sets without complaint,

life, simplified.

 

Poem: On To The Next

Arshan Dhillon

Endless,

the good shall pass,

the bad shall pass,

it’ll come again, go when it pleases, return without a notice,

but all of it shall pass.

 

Just as the rising of the sun,

just as the desire to hit the snooze,

just as the wave which gathers, again and again,

just as the comfortable thoughts of procrastination,

just as the mountain ranges beyond which are more mountains,

just as the cravings for pleasure,

endless, once more, forever, best to accept it all.

 

The foundation.

The insight.

The knowledge.

The awareness.

 

Just as a mothers love,

just as a fathers sacrifice,

just as a desire for more,

just as a need to be someone.

Always there, again and again.

 

Obstacles and resistance,

growth and change,

regression and mistakes,

cyclical life.

 

Tides come and go, washing on the shore, pulling with it some things, pushing with it some other, each instance is changed, each moment anew, each success temporary, each failure the same, on to the next, the next hurdle, the next craving, the next accomplishment, the next love, the next heartbreak, the next promise, the next letdown, the next laugh, the next cry, the next day, the sun rises, always and forever, prepare for the next start.

 

 

Poem: The Fragile Self

Arshan Dhillon

Fragile is the body that accompanies us,

flesh that can easily be bruised or torn,

bones which fracture and break,

organs malfunction, sometimes due to our own behavior and other times, it’s just the luck of the draw,

colds, fevers, headaches, stubbed toes, cancer, liver failure, peanut allergy, heart disease, chronic pain, bad backs, sore feet, toothaches, bullet wounds, kidney stones, arthritis,

just a list of reminders,

each thing evidence of our fragile nature.

 

The fragility doesn’t stop there, it’s not merely physical,

no, it accompanies our mental,

the mind that clings to fears of what-ifs,

the mind that clings to the afterthoughts of what could have been,

jealousy, anxiety, envy, resentment, eagerness, yearning, disappointment, adrenaline spike and dumps, endorphins rush and crash, sadness, happiness, discontent, disassociation,

the constant loop of emotions and feelings which keeping reminding man of how fragile, how childlike he is.

 

That’s all there is to it,

the reminder of how un-great man is,

daily reality check,

to keep the ego in line,

flesh, blood, bones, electrons, neurons,

just another animal,

and as Aurelius said,

man being an animal, he must get up and work.