New | Poetry | As the City Sleeps | To the Doors of Nature | Devika Mathur

The Poor by the Sea, Picasso

As the city sleeps

I camouflage and dance like the birds

the birds from my last evening:

a banter through the walking steps

a fever and a hiccup to suggest,

dreams about metaphors taking shape

mauvy, reddish-brown floral abstract gowns

with a ‘kolhapuri’ jutti-

my dreams are aimless, just like my vast eyes of the storm

Hopping into the lands of Gods and gardens

a myriad of colorblind views,

my dreams expand like people

below

and above

underneath the ink and soil, if you know:

distant- through the rubber gloves

through the mirrors of the fallen forest,

my dreams are colorless and tireless,

just like a glare.

As the city sleeps,

stiff as a twig, I slip from sideways

into the morning leaf’s shadow.

               The season has turned its back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To the doors of nature

A nimble sniff

Of nature and its friends

A chirp that stirs the heart

 

Cloudburst;

A song of rain

as it slips upon my bosom

 

I shout that I care

I care about my fields, the water ripples

comfort about the sky watching,

I shout,

about the mountains scrabbling

Exotic,

prosaic

Nature- an ocean of transparency.

 

Snowdrops,

 Sweet candle wax on toes

that utters the travesty of plant & wood,

 

A ladybug visits me often

I call it my only friend

The only 'temple bell' to defy the pain.

 

Nature- I am so tiny.

So tiny to speak

A moisture-laden substance,

unknown

formidable.

 

Sickening moth on the soil.

Oh! I wish to rest now

along with your shores

quietly.

Bio: Devika Mathur resides in India and is a published poet, writer, editor. Her works have been published in Madras Courier, Modern Literature, Two Drops Of Ink, Dying Dahlia Review, Pif Magazine, Spillwords, Duane's Poetree, Piker Press, Mojave heart review, Whisper and the Roar amongst others. She is the founder of the surreal poetry website "Olive skins" and writes for https://myvaliantsoulsblog.wordpress.com/   She recently published her book "Crimson Skins". Her works are upcoming in two more anthologies.