Sarang Bhand
But before that — a little prelude to set the context right. It’s pertinent for someone like me who writes for amateur pursuits: to read, read and read even more before I can think of writing. Since reading enables understanding of nuances of writing — the subtle markers that make writing worth reading and remembering. When it comes to poetry, I have been fascinated by the works of Walt Whitman (1819-1892) for its intimacy between nature and self. His ‘Song of Myself’ takes us on an inward journey and there have been elements of such realisation in his other works too. Poetry is subjective, taking inspiration from mundane objective observations and enameling it with creative imagination, poets create a unique place of communion. A place where the poet and the reader’s mind becomes one sharing the common experiences. I must admit, I’m fond of expressionistic writings. Very recently, I was introduced to the works of Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) by Biswajit Mishra, an amazing haikuist and poet I have come to know on X (formerly Twitter). He shared the popular lines written by Rilke, ‘For the sake of a single poem,’ that appeared in The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge in 1910. He shared it with me to endorse a point of view that I had posted on my timeline in view of readers’ acceptance of something written with a direct experience vs pure imagination. As I read the piece, something pierced deep. And I felt a sudden rush of inspiration that seemed to clear a blockage choked in my heart, throat and mind. It cleared something for me and mulling restlessly overnight, I had this whim and urge to write and so ended up writing this.
Inspired by the amazing work, ‘For the sake of a single poem,’ by Rainer Maria Milke (1875-1926).
I wish to write a poem
I wish to write a poem, but before that —
I wish to dip my toes in a freshwater brook,
to feel its soft trickling rush —
tickling, cleansing my senses and wit.
Taking one step at a time
I wish to put my feet inside a stream,
to feel cold and then warm gush —
with carps nibbling on dead skin and the burden of heart
that calcified over time.
Being bold and out of my comfort
I wish to take a dip in the deep end of the river,
being one with the stones that lie submerged —
observing the change of seasons above
and listening to the songs of the birds
carried by the current.
Getting venturesome with all stakes-in
I wish to dive deep in the depths of ocean,
navigating the cross-currents of life —
working, slogging, winning, losing,
breaking, building, crying, laughing,
having run the circle of rut.
Once I have experienced it all,
then maybe, only then —
I can write a poem, one day,
to share with you all.
Sarang Bhand is an entrepreneur working in the clean-tech space. When he is not troubleshooting projects, he likes to spend time writing over the weekends. He is a keen student of the Japanese poetry forms and likes to write senryu exploring the subtleties of day-to-day observations and human tendencies. He also likes to dabble in writing essays & CNF occasionally. His writings can be found @ih_klektik on X.
Featured image by Ds babariya (Pexels)
