The Endless I

Within the givens of life
I seize thoughts, weave stories
Live parallel lives
In words, and in reality
United yet separate
Intensifying harmony
Of laughter and tears

Some days I am the question chaser
I run with Alphard across the sky
Asking
Is there happiness
Only to realize it is caged
In soundless allegro of my heart

Some days when magnum opus of life blurs
I strip a piece of dark night
And wear it on my forehead
To burn the crowded hues of endings
I become the eloquent
Yet, once again

Some days I become the crucifix 
Raged
By the sea of blind eyes
By the penury of sacred shelters
Where forgiveness could be all
The allowance of religion

And then,
Some days I see a stranger's face
Longing for
Warm fire-glows of mind's dream
On such days I shed my name
Give it to the rainbow
Mix it's hue in a goblet of wine
I sculpt the heart's caged bird
Name her Ashna (friend)
I walk through the maze of her heart
Where days and nights are not caged
Where mellowed whims are free 
To laugh and cry
In silence she defines me, and I her

In the imagery of poetry
Everything fits
And yet
Everything falls away
In search of the new
I am the ever drunk
Wanderer, lover, preacher, thinker

Ainon N. is a poet, writer and critic. She writes from Chicago, USA