‘Time is just a memory/ of slow recognitions/ step crossing through infinity’: Poems for a new year

Destination

something that sees
faster than the speed of light,
acts before the instant.

time is just a memory
of slow recognitions
step crossing through infinity.

sometimes a window
opens the soul
to the memory of falling rain

of a softness buried
in eyes that speak
from across the flagrant reign

of empires that they lost
but found a different victory
without glory or pain

traveling the distance
that only stars could map
with the threads of their destiny.

but who can tell what that
destination will be?
the world has pushed the throttle –

full centre
full forward
full spin beyond this shattered humanity.

full throttle to a new humanity.

Transition

when freedom is caught
in a cage of illusions
when the arc of knowledge
declines –

on the street there is nothing
to offer direction
or prepare a soul, suddenly
breaking into a smile –

but in that revelation of a second,
is the conquest of eternities
carrying the world high
above the shoulders of time.

Anu Majumdar’s books include Refugees from Paradise, Auroville: A City for the Future, and The God Enchanter and Parallel Journeys. A new collection of poetry is in the offing. She lives and works in Auroville .