Up/Lift
Supriya Rakesh
This speculative poem is an exploration into space imagery and metaphors, where I engage playfully with my inclination (in life and writing) to ‘cloud’ my experiences and emotions with fantasy and imagination. But what happens when the clouds lift? What hidden truths are finally revealed? What is real and what is a dream?
No space for metaphors today,
What you see is what you get.
Clouds part, lift to reveal, that-
The sun is really a ball of lava
The moon is indeed the sun
Dark, a benign bat-knight
Stars, a war of funhouse lanterns
Mountains are false coffee highs
Rivers, a rapidly shifting self
Valleys, the void in your soul
Fault lines, when your world quivered
Yet the earth is unchanging, home.
When the clouds lift,
You finally know the truth.
Raw and real and complete.
That orbits are wild roller-coasters,
Planets quit life paths, mid-rotation
Faithful satellites turn sullenly willful
Shooting stars, your mouth in anger
Milky way, heavenly white chocolate
Asteroids, a celestial rock band
Mars, where avoidant men live in retrograde
Venus, sad poems, passionate, unrequited
Pluto, ignored child, ultimately relegated
When the clouds lift, they lift you up.
Sometimes.
Uplift you.
And you see clearly, this moment.
A rare happenstance of perfect alignment
Disguised (deceptively) as an eclipse.
Supriya
Rakesh
Instagram: @ssupriyarakesh
Website: www.supriyarakesh.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Supriya is an author, poet, and creative facilitator from Mumbai, India. Her writing is published in Litro, Setu Bilingual, Kitaab, and a South-Asian anthology on gendered violence. She recently won the Bound Food essay contest for her memoir piece on adolescent friendship. In her courses and workshops, Supriya draws upon story, theatre and art to cultivate loving spaces for self-exploration and dialogue. She currently lives in Amsterdam where she sings improvised songs, complains about the weather and ponders over the meaning of home. Discover more at www.supriyarakesh.com.