Subrat Mishra, Bhubaneswar, 25th July 2024
‘Now’ is just a fleeting moment,
A dot in the timeline between ‘gone’ and ‘to come’.
It beckons me frantically but in vain,
For I am always absent in its presence.
Or perhaps present in its absence.
I fail to notice its signals as I,
Wander aimless in the bylanes of the past or,
Fly blind in the firmament of the future; oscillating between
Muddled memories and distant dreams,
Between redundant regrets and figmental fears,
Between rueful resignation and relentless resistance.
Tormented yet titillated by the past,
Terrified yet tempted by the future,
I have become a floundering being,
A human chaos, a fragmented spirit.
‘Now’ extends its hands to steady my gait, break my fall and still my soul.
Yet I am blind to its sign and deaf to its call.
If only I could hold on to ‘Now’ in a tight embrace I would be myself,
Not seeking to be someone else somewhere else doing something else.
If only I could remain in the present, do it’s bidding,
See its sights, hear its voice, smell its odour,
Taste its flavour and feel its ardour,
I would dazzle in its beauty,
Drown in its love and dissolve in eternity.
