Understanding Alchemy |
Coelho talks about "alchemy"
and how the universe holds
a language without words;
in my mind the words swivel
but my gaze is fixed upon a tree
by my window, growing its length
like an impatient toddler -
its twigs have formed
and leaves just about sprouting -
like teeth and hair;
the moon blanches over
the fragile stump, and the twigs turn
silver - a quick processed aging -
its leaves droop to the call of the breeze
and I look up to the sky
for language.
Just this morning,
the tree ravished the wind's
playful gestures; now by moonrise,
its life has alchemized.
I watch the silvering by night
as I ponder upon language
and the omens I failed to read
that may have let my flesh survive
a few centuries longer.
The tree has grown its course,
unlike my mind
that hasn't stopped reading.
copyright 2015
Sheikha
A. |