I sit with my body taut
And fingers fidgeting mindlessly
The mind though is working
Trying to find out
If it still wants to search
For the right word
This happens every time
I sit down to write a poem.
And I forgot to say that the eyes too
Slowly scan up and down
Without looking at anything in particular
And let the brain search in peace.
The whole body cooperates.
This ploy works every time, I tell myself
And the mind immediately protests:
It isn’t a ploy, it is
An involuntary reaction
And leads to a poem penned.
To others it seems as if the poet
Is immersed in the depth
Of some intense emotion.
No. The mind is just searching for the right word.
It is only when the right words
Come together that emotion
Enters
And even the poet is surprised
At what he has written
And rejoices with a smile.
But this isn’t strange
What happen after this is stranger
For, the poet sometimes reads
What is written and
Decides to leave the interpretation
To others
And smiles.
And so
Smiles are as mysterious
As poems!
Intrigue…
Arvind Passey
16 June 2012
9 comments
Nandini Garg says:
Jun 16, 2012
Smile and they’ll mysteriously lead you somewhere for something better!!
Arvind Passey says:
Jun 22, 2012
Yes, that is the magical thing about a smile…nice to know that you liked this poem. Hope to see you back…
Corinne Rodrigues says:
Jun 16, 2012
I don’t write poetry, but if it results in smiles all around – perhaps I should try! Great poem. 🙂
Rickie Khosla says:
Jun 16, 2012
I am curious – is there greater satisfaction for the poet if the reader’s interpretation matches his? Or is it better if the interpretation was something different from the original thought?
Personally, I love anything that leaves the reader slightly intrigued…and want to revisit the poem/essay/film.
(This reminded me of “art” films where the film stays in your mind long after you have left the theatre – because you are still trying to process what happened in the end!)
jaish_vats says:
Jun 18, 2012
I am smiling reading that one 🙂
Akanksha Dureja says:
Jun 19, 2012
Happens with me all every time I sit down to pen a poetry! The search for the right word seems endless, and when I get there, the smile is mysterious to others, who think I have gone mad, smiling to my laptop 🙂
khimi thapa says:
Jun 25, 2012
How effortlessly you have described what goes in a writer’s mind when he or she is about to pour in his or her heart on a paper ….. simply beautiful
Divenita Er says:
Jan 15, 2013
It is a nice poem 🙂 i did not like the usage of the word: scan though :(!
Sorry!
Arvind Passey says:
Jan 16, 2013
Thank you Divenita, for liking my poem. Well, I respect your opinion about the word ‘scan’ in the poem. However, it is there to symbolise the closely observant way the eyes look at objects which is almost as clinical as the way a scanner would ‘see’.