Ascending

hold me, but then

let me fall

to strike the ground like Indian rain

something I have seen only in my sleep

where I dance amidst a dark monsoon

until I find myself drowned, unable to

breathe

face down against the wet earth

praying for release from

this body unaware

of the tempest evolving in the mind’s eye

and even you fail to see

brown human –

you are not a bridge

to be crossed in a storm

you carry the love of

the mothers before you,

to rip apart your chest

break open the twilight sky

why do you dream yourself into exhaustion

and forget you are the colored moon

the ancient tides, the water

all your own

stir from the ground

use your body to

rise –

and they will know

About the Poet

Faren Rajkumar is an MFA candidate at the University of South Florida and a poet from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Faren’s work is inspired by her Hindu roots, love of nature, traveling, and meditation practice. This poem is an excerpt from her upcoming book Paper Flowers.