It is snowy and the paths are icy
My eyes see only my footprints
I want to talk to someone
I want to say: Hello and how are you?
But it seems I am not welcome here
I breathe deeply, collect all my voices
From my heart I say
I want to talk to someone.
No one answers
I am not allowed to shake hands
Not because I am a woman, and it is considered a sin
But because it’s freezing
And I might burn
The hands I shake.
I look at the sky, see nothing
I say to myself: the woman poet!
Listen to yourself, say hello back to your self
You are your own best friend!
Looking at the sky, the tears of God falling on my face
I say, it’s me again, the woman who always complains
Sky, I say, here I am again!
The loneliest woman in the world
Sky, will you open your doors?
There is no sound back
I hear nothing
Nature sleeps on her white wedding dress
The wind like the sound of a sky that screams
The frozen air, my teeth shaking like an earthquake.
Looking at the sky
I ask for some light but…
The weather is depressed
Doors are closed
Heads hide in warm clothes
Hands disappear into black gloves
It’s as if nature rests in peace.
Trees stand exposed like skeletons
The earth is cold, distressed, unkind
The sky is noisy and icy
Stars and the moon refuse to shine
The cold burns all over my skin.
Is it this frozen weather
Or the pain of all the thorns
Life has jabbed into my body
I don’t know
What I do know
It’s winter.
By Pari
Photo by Scott McCracken
It’s power.
It’s the light of your vision.
Not dim, like winter’s covered sun.
But bright, bright, bright.
We are all brighter after reading your poems, Pari. Stacy
Pari — This is powerful, beautiful work. I love the imagery in the line “Looking at the sky, the tears of God falling on my face” and then “It’s me again, the woman who always complains.” You draw the reader in with this self-chastising remark but the reader knows that you don’t complain about trivial things — there is much to be sad about. By describing winter you in turn give us a clearer picture of the pain in your world symbolized through the burning cold, the skeletal trees — and the moon that refuses to shine. This is a complex poem that I will not soon forget. All best wishes, Nancy
Dearest Pari, What a pleasure it was to work with you on this poem. The imagery is so powerful and profound. I love the line about the writer being her own best friend–such a hopeful line in this lovely poem. Your images are so vivid, and the reader enters such a beautiful and painful world here. Truly an accomplishment! Thank you for sharing this poem with us. Warmest wishes, Keya
Thanks for your nice comments, which look like a light that shines this poem more and more. I am very pleased and proud to finish this poem with my dear mentor Keya Mitra. Much love. Pari
Pari,
Your poem is both beautiful and heartrending. Your writing is vivid and masterful. I love the personification of nature: the line “nature sleeps in her white wedding dress” followed by the line “it’s as if nature rests in peace.” I’ve reread this poem multiple times now and each time is like the first. I am so impressed. The power of this poem lies in its layers: there is pain but also a sense of stillness, and winter feels less like a season than a marker of suffering. The juxtaposition of freezing and burning is striking. Thank you for this poem. Every line is felt.