Poem -12
Shoonya – From Nothingness to Meaningfulness
By Shyamolima Saikia
The perplexity of being myself
And not another self
Of having born and lived
Till this day,
Being aware of an ‘I’ within my physical form
Who is it?
Is it a soul that questions
Time and again my purpose?
Why am I here
And what after?
Whither shall I go?
Questions of obligations, too
Have I done my part well?
Have I been humane?
How have I fared in relations?
Am I a good devotee of the almighty?
Oh! Moments of doubt
Abound my being in a mystical web
And as I look up and get awestruck
At the infinite space
Of stars twinkling distant and near
Radiating joy as well as mystery
Of the moon, of the sun
Presences benign,
Of birds, of animals
Of their beautiful symmetries,
Of trees and human beings
Of their companionships,
Like a child forever intrigued
Endless questions but no answer
But forever aware of a higher power
Beholding us and taking care
Yet, amidst a myriad perplexity
There is a desire
To free oneself of all warring turmoil;
To let go of hatred and petty tussles,
And meditate on the little pleasures harnessed,
To possess compassion,
To lose all futile material gains;
To celebrate the virtues
of friendship and togetherness,
To give without expectation,
To forgive, to love and to care
And to stop and seize the moment
And give meaning
to the nothingness of existence.
Shyamolima Saikia is working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Gargaon College, Assam, India. Besides several academic books, she has edited two anthologies titled Poetry Unites: An Anthology of Verse and Dhara: A paradise worth fighting for. She has penned two collection of poems titled Palimpsest and Paper Mache Dreams and a short story collection titled Heirloom : A Collection of Short Stories and Personal Essays. Her poems have been published in Borderless Journal, Muse India, Teesta Review, Yugen Quest Review and anthologies like Antargata, the Kali Project, Paradise On Earth: An International Anthology, Earth, Fire, Water & Wind A Poetry Anthology etc. Moreover, her short stories have been published in TMYS Review, SKIN: Flash Fiction First, Volume 2, Riverside Stories, Muse India among others.
