Reflections, in two parts...

Part 1 - The Masks

We meet, we greet

Discuss, converse

 

We part as friends

Though when 

Our meeting ends

Why do I feel 

So much worse?

 

Do we realize?

It was only

 

Masks 

That spoke

You put one on

And so did I

 

Masks to hide

The sheer terror

Of vulnerability

Masks that divide

Camouflaging possibility

Masks that disguise

The error of our ways

Or simply ritualize

This deep-rooted malaise

Masks that entertain

Some even with warpaint

 

I want to ask

That we get rid of our mask

 

I want to break out

Of this mold

And show you

In all my humility

All the chinks in my armor

With deep inner clarity

To cleanse myself

Of all that isn't truly mine

So you can see me

In my full shining glory

To open up

Your own heart

Share your own story

So we can both be

Who we're really 

Meant to be

 - March 24, 2015

Part 2 

...fragments...

We meet

We greet

Again

And over and over again

We share the laughter and tears

Our joys and our fears

Repeating the same refrain

And when the masks drop

There's a pause

We finally stop

Stop the labels and the libel

Forget the Geeta Koran or Bible

We see the tears behind the laughter

The laughter beyond the pain

The joys despite the fears

There's that Love all over again

Look around yourself

Can you find those

Shattered battered pieces

Left lying behind

This bit from someone's childhood

That from a youth

One from a lost brotherhood

The other whom no one could soothe

Fragments...

Squinting and glinting

Shards

Piercing yet hinting

When you pick up a piece of me

And I

One of yours 

The alchemy of Love binds

This new part

Makes a new whole

That leaves those old holes

Far behind

- April 18, 2015

These were born as gifts for the participants of Yoni ki Baat 2015 - a journey I took with ten incredible women that culminated in a performance where they shared their authentic stories centered around women's sexuality, and a part of Aaina - the annual festival for South Asian women hosted by Tasveer.

Picture credit: Arati Rao, to commemorate the reflection, the Aaina that is Life.