Music is The Only God I Know
A freeverse poem
On most days,
I cannot dissociate myself
from music.
Every dribbling moment,
a fraction of a tune,
a sliver of a melody,
a bunch of gamakas,
a prelude,
a postlude
or an interlude
is ingrained in my brain.
My limbs break into
the teensiest shake.
The lyrics of a few
are sculpted
in the creases of my lips.
My head begins to bob
as if propelled by some force.
Music becomes the mother
that cranes its head
to feed the hungry baby birds.
And that’s how
I swallow it whole,
becoming the music.
On most days,
I try to understand
how I feel the feelings I feel
when a soul-clenching song
drives me back
into the arms of nostalgia.
Or how a specific raga
drenches me in saudade.
Or how a few songs
have built a parallel universe
for me to become the queen
of the lives I never got to live.
Music becomes the endless expanse
where I swim deeper
to dig the treasures it offers.
And that’s how
I stumble upon divinity
and let the gravity of music
consume me.
~Kavya Janani. U
This poem was published in the Modern Literature magazine earlier this month.
If you love my poems, please purchase a copy of my poetry books here - https://linktr.ee/kavya.janani
You can read my other freeverse poetry here: Freeverse Poetry by Kavya Janani. U