transparency–dVerse Poetics


Image kindness of artist Sunita Khedekar. Used with permission.

Image kindness of artist
Sunita Khedekar. Used with permission.

transparency

i.
from the tops of roofs
birds chortle their delight,
weave mournful melodies
for all to hear,
while behind facades of homes
clothed in riotous colors
dark secrets may linger.

ii.
close as we may be—
neighbor-to-neighbor,
spouse-to-spouse,
does anyone really know us?
do we even know ourselves?

iii.
we are so different from one another—
colors, shapes, where we live.
yet our lives slip by,
(perhaps unnoticed,)
beneath the same sky,
warmed by the same sun,
nourished by the same earth.
let us open our arms
like the branches of a tree.
let us open our hearts
like waters of a cool stream
to welcome,
to accept,
to refresh.

iv.
when we listen deeply
we taste our alikeness.
our paths may differ
but if we look inside the core,
like the center of each flower,
(pink or orange or gold)
we are the same.

v.
small windows
limit our view of the world.
let us knock down walls
to what is beyond our limited perspective
to embrace the beauty
that surrounds us.

vi.
if we allow another
to join us in our little dinghy
both of us can take up the oars.
we will glide with greater ease,
arrive more quickly,
and still have time
to enjoy the view.

I’m so grateful to Grace for introducing us to the talented artist Sunita Khedekar who graciously opens up her art portfolio to us as an inspiration for this week’s Poetic’s prompt. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us, Sunita. Give yourself the treat of stopping by her Blog to enjoy her work, then come on by dVerse to see how other have responded in poetry.

The doors open Tuesday at 3:00 PM EDT.

30 thoughts on “transparency–dVerse Poetics

  1. sreejaharikrishnan says:

    Such lovely thoughts……you made the painting more meaningful….!

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  2. lucychili says:

    you capture the painting and the journey well

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  3. rmp says:

    there was a lot in this. I can see how the image inspired it, but you broke it open so much more with your verse. While each built nicely from the next and the final stanza brought it home, I liked V….I could actually picture the small narrow view from the window. This also had me reflecting a bit on Monday’s Pubtalk, a Cult/ure Thing?

    really lovely write.

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  4. tigerbrite says:

    Deep thoughts Victoria and well delivered. We are all part of the universal consciousness, yet the most difficult thing is to get to know and accept ourselves.

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  5. nico says:

    Lovely writing–that’s just it, isn’t it? We are here together, but we’re afraid of knowing one another, of truly sharing life with another. Beautiful.

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  6. kaykuala says:

    if we allow another
    to join us in our little dinghy
    both of us can take up the oars.

    Very aptly describes the attitude of modern living and the yearnings of wanting neighbors to be part of the solution rather than the problem. If only others readily throw their helping hand easily, neighborliness can really be enhanced. Thoughtfully true Victoria!

    Hank

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  7. MarinaSofia says:

    This ties in nicely also with Claudia’s discussion about communicating across cultures ‘small windows
    limit our view of the world.
    let us knock down walls’
    because at the core the same things move us and speak to us. Very deep!

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  8. kkkkaty1 says:

    You def address each aspect of the painting with detail and beautifully describe an ideal world with such ease…nice, Victoria

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  9. vandana says:

    Nicely done!!

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  10. Bodhirose says:

    I’ve pondered these same questions…does anyone really know someone else? I like the verse about taking up oars in a little dinghy together…to traverse the way and enjoy the view with another.

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  11. Madhumakhi says:

    What a beautiful poem. I love your message that we’re all essentially one. These lines were especially brilliant-
    ‘beneath the same sky,
    warmed by the same sun,
    nourished by the same earth.’
    They wonderfully complemented the idea that we’re all of the same origin- the trillions of atoms that make up our body.

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  12. Truedessa says:

    A powerful poem full of thoughts to ponder. I really liked part III

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  13. Poet Laundry says:

    This is beautiful and contains a great message as well!

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  14. billgncs says:

    love the stanza about our core.

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  15. ayala says:

    Beautifully penned, Victoria.

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  16. Self analysis is crucial to a peaceful existence . Unless we know ourselves we cannot know or help others.I like verse 2 …do we really know anyone else?…probably not.

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  17. We are so very similar, and yet often treat ourselves as islands… to our own detriment, which is such a shame. What a thoughtful response.

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  18. Laurie Kolp says:

    A mantra all should live by… we are limited by small windows in so many ways.

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  19. And the birds chortle on. Well said … I like the contrast between bright and possible darkness. I’m amazed at how creative the dVerse poets are with the prompts. I personally can’t write that fast.

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  20. Gabriella says:

    I like the questions you ask in the second stanza and the way you ask them. And then how you used the various elements in the painting to try and answer them.

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  21. Lovely thoughts. I found the fourth one wonderful. Wise and thoughtful writing. 🙂

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  22. Glenn Buttkus says:

    A terrific batch of verses to chide us, & to interpret the painting. Your points are so well taken; if we embraced our humanity, we might not spend so much time on the dark side. To an alien, we are more alike than dissimilar; we are earthites, of this planet; adored your message; thanks.

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  23. claudia says:

    let us knock down walls
    to what is beyond our limited perspective
    to embrace the beauty
    that surrounds us…. that was the key for me in here… we can live our lives so separated from each other even though we live door to door… it is sad.. and def. time to know down some barriers…

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  24. Grace says:

    Beautifully written Victoria ~ I specially like IV part, being the same underneath despite our different paths ~ And how true, under the same sun & sky, we’re so different from each other ~ I like the embracing of beauty surrounding all of us ~

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  25. First I really like the strong contrasts between the lightness and darkness in the beginning.. the same things can seem so different to us. chortle with delight and how colors might hide the darkness.. So important to set the scene — and how you expand it to the sense on how little we know of each other really,,

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  26. Brian Miller says:

    ah true in how we are so alike, yet so far apart….the color of house says nothing of what might hide inside….even yesteryear when i felt we were closer as neighbors we still did not know everything…and there were still surprises…it is in our coming together though that we accomplish anything…

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  27. Mary says:

    Loved your series, Victoria. I see that you really got inside the feeling of the painting and let the feelings bubble forth from within.

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  28. K. A. Brace says:

    I liked your poem Victoria and I wrote one to the prompt but do you really think this inspired arttwork? >KB

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