A Poem A Day by Manivillie Kanagasabapathy
I can never think of titles
maybe because my words are too
used to running untamed
without definition and ownership.
Or maybe I hate titles,
because they ask me to think
about what I am trying to say,
instead of what you tell me
I am speaking about?
But then again, maybe I only
hate titles, because they signify
the end of the poem and the
beginning of trying to classify it.
© Manivillie Kanagasabapathy
There are so many beautiful words in the world,
but you only give me the ones that show your ugly fear.
There are so many powerful words in the world,
but you only speak the ones that show your weakness.
There are so many kind words in the world,
but you only allow the ones that demean to escape your lips.
There are so many loving words in the world,
but you only surround yourself in the ones that breed hate.
There are so many words in the worlds,
maybe it is time I stopped listening to yours.
© Manivillie Kanagasabapathy
Don’t take my words as gospel,
it is a truth that is written
on tops of my calluses,
from where I held on too tight,
and the backs of the scars,
where I had to cut the ties.
Don’t take my words as fallacy,
as they are the truths I hide,
neither ready to see
the light of day,
or content to remain
in the shadows of night.
Don’t take my words,
as each one is precious,
earned through years
of mistakes, missed intentions,
and misconceptions.
They are my lessons,
told through these stories.
© Manivillie Kanagasabapathy
Between these pages,
I find glimpses of you,
stories I didn’t know
to ask you to tell.
Answers to questions,
I struggled with but
feared that you had
never confronted.
And love that
scream out from the
pages of a book
that was a silent
presence through
my life.
© Manivillie Kanagasabapathy
If writing is a skill, I fear I have lost it.
The words don’t dance in my head anymore,
Instead, they remain silenced by the walls I build to keep them safe
How was I to know that in protecting my heart, my joys
I locked them so far away that I can’t reach them.
The memories taunt me.
Words so bright, so alive, they sang with the colours of life.
Moments so pure, that when I looked in the Ocean of words,
My true reflection stared back- scars and laugh lines mapping my life
Now that face is lost behind so may layers of fear and doubts,
Drowned so deep, in this shadow of a life,
A specter of the whole,
Too afraid to live, to be honest, to cause ripples.
To speak the truth of who I am…
These words uttered in desperation, lost and singular
Hanging between one breath and the next
Layers and layers of meanings, of needs, of wants
Hidden in simplistic denotations of a virtual whole,
Words laid bare for the world to see.
© Manivillie Kanagasabapathy
AN: A repost of a poem from another site, my online portfolio page (www.manivillie.com). Below is the orginal write up I had with it.
This poem is a draft that just came up, as I was trying to write a blog post for today. I have been putting so much importance on writing for the blog, that I have forgotten how to write. I used to write everyday and now the thought of writing scares me. In my head and heart, I fear that I am not good enough – which is really frustrating because I do not write to be good but write because it heals and because I love it.
I never realized how hard it is to rebuild a relationship after you break it…….
The truth of whom I am,
cannot be found in the
words in this poem
but the ones that lay
rejected at my feet.
© Manivillie Kanagasabapathy
I have no words today,
they are sitting outside
getting soaked by the rain.
Maybe I will pick them up
again when the sun starts
shining.
© Manivillie Kanagasabapathy
