Our distances are intimate, <br />We grow vast in our silences. <br />In freedom we have blossomed, <br />Not having thwarted one another. <br />How unrestricted are our movements: <br />We have never tried to trim each other to size. <br /> <br />You come back, asynchronious, <br />Twisted by your concourse with others. <br />I react to your divergences. <br />How we have fought, <br />With no holds barred <br />Tearing at each other fiercely, <br />Until our brains nearly exploded. <br />Then, all anger spent, <br />Not one word or hit, left unstruck, <br />We gaze at each other mutely- <br />Astonished at the devastation <br />Each has wrought on the other. <br />Standing forlorn amidst the debris of our selves, <br />We heal, and once again <br />Stretch towards each other, <br />All our crooked places straightened. <br /> <br />We are the enemies of each other's egos <br />Ruthless in hunt; <br />Thus we destroy and recreate each other ceaselessly. <br />Yet our eyes talk and understand <br />The subtle signals of love, <br />The open smile of happiness <br />Wrapping the other in a warm embrace. <br />Indeed, our gestures are complete. <br /> <br />My curses have failed. <br />The blows that I struck you <br />Drained me of all violence. <br />Even memories have lost their sting. <br />Instead, eternal be my blessing <br />Overflowing all the harsh sayings, <br />Washing them away like loose dirt. <br /> <br />So go, you are not mine- <br />Prosper and flower wherever you are. <br />And yet stay, <br />Grow strong and straight <br />Like a companion eucalyptus, <br />Tall and elegant, <br />And restless in the breeze. <br /> <br /> <br />[From The Serene Flame]<br /><br />Makarand Paranjape<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/getting-outside-patriarchy/
