 Darkness is the canvas of creation
Why vibration yields sound How energy is set in motion Where life breaks the ground Night is when the moon Makes her enchanting debut Always departing too soon Behind a veil of indigo-blue Krishna, Gana-Shyama Dark as the cosmos within Kāli, Kālarātrisca Divine through cremation Dio Nero, Haashch’eezhini Black God of Fire Kartikeya, Son of Parvati Born of the pyre Blackness is prakriti Nature unfolded Strong like Nefertiti Ever sacred, never eroded With the passing of time, Why do we fear what’s not light? Is the sun so sublime, That casted shadows don’t delight? Blackness is eternal love The all-encompassing one Deep, yet rising above Only stifled by a gun But these tides will not lay low In fact, they rise in the night Shapeshifting, like the crow-- To make these wrongs, once again right Original poem by Divya Balakrishnan All Rights Reserved. Every day I want to make positive choices about who I a This is the third and final piece in this photo series about identity. The violence that Jacob Blake was subjected to comes from the evil disease of hatred that runs rampant in our world. My heart races and I feel a constant dull churn of nausea these days, and that is still pleasant in comparison to the anguish felt by those who have a target on their back. This poem was written out of a love for Blackness. Black women taught me how to love myself. Black love is an ideal of softness and strength. Black resilience is a blueprint for humanity. Black Lives Matter, Persevere, and Reign.
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 She carved herself through the equator Cried tears of magma Hoisted herself from the crater Just to make urvarā She did it for us Divine Mother, Bhoomi Devi Without a sound, without a fuss Carried the burden, ever heavy She moved through the world Through us now too Teeth bared, fists curled Never once withdrew Gave birth to the man And his strength too She never claimed more than Just equal to Honor the suffrage Herstory never lost Make room for her rage Now we bear the cost In rockets adorned with silica We abandon her for the sky Gearing up to destroy ākāsā We’ve made our mother cry Patient yet, She pleads that we stay All can be forgiven, If we correct the wrongs of our ways She loves us still -- God’s golden children But can’t excuse the evil Done by our billions Beheading her forests Drilling through her core Plastic invasions by tourists She can’t take any more What’s left to do? When we’ve ravaged her so How do we start anew? Where’s left to go? Original Poem by Divya Balakrishnan All rights reserved.  I am Dravidian, Tamil, American
Born between two lands And of many minds Claimed my lineage always Roots brandished with pride Vedas in my veins Manjal to make me fair (& lovely) Carnatic melody reigns Since birth, coconut oil in my hair ‘What’s that you’re eating?’ They’d sneer Oh, that’s just rice and kootu. Childhood spent seeking acceptance Still proudly wore the pottu They said be Bollywood or be gone I said no thank you I’d rather go at it alone It took years, But my people came around Sifting through crocodile tears There is kinship to be found I learned: Dark is beauty Tamizh is grace My ancestral wisdom Forever etched in my face We’re all home now Let’s do more than bask Don’t tell me how-- I’d rather you ask. Original poem by Divya Balakrishnan All rights reserved. |
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