the dream tree…

the veins of the earth pour
through me, as I sit quietly, contemplating
the tree, me, and all I seeโ€ฆ

โ€ฆI wonder if this life is really meant to be,
or, if the me I see, is simply a reflection
of the dream treeโ€ฆ

cascading light reflects off the tree, and
I gather up memories bound underneath the sea,
and wish for another reality

where pain and pleasure go together,
like twins, conjoined in a love so tender,
kind, and altogether

reminiscent

of the mystery,
weโ€™ve spent our lives trying to out figureโ€ฆ


Photo by Bessi, from Pixabay


#poetry, #connection, #contemplation, #dreams, #introspection, #life, #love, #mystery, #nature, #pain, #pleasure, #poem, #reflections, #trees

towards the light of another dayโ€ฆ

I skip over puddles, one, two, three,
in the mirror images, I see, you
refracted back at meโ€ฆ

always loving and kind, despite the pain
sitting on the surface
of our contoured purpose,
reaching deep within,
looking amongst the worn out travelers, sin

arises, seems raw, and depletes me againโ€ฆ

tired, and tortured, I look to the earthโ€™s very nature, for a sense of purpose

realizing
the feelings, and thoughts, go against the grain

like the trees, bare, and scorched of their outer skins, while flayed and portrayed

in the myriad contexts,
where love is at the center, not grim,
more compassionate, to the travelers
making their way

towards the light of another dayโ€ฆ


Photo by distelAPPArath from Pixabay


#poetry, #connection, #contemplation, #emotion, #heart, #introspection, #joy, #life, #light, #love, #nature, #pain, #poem, #purpose

a magical black hole

Pixabay

a dream,
mind conjures, as
intuition blossoms, and
reflects upon
conditioned aspects
of time borrowedโ€ฆ

harsh

as they seem
we grew through
the pain and agonyโ€ฆ

trials and tribulations
abound, as we recount
each moment, and, at times, drown

in the feelings
swallowing us whole,
like a magical black holeโ€ฆ.

spinning vortex,
light withdrawn,
senses expand, reaching
out for a hand

to hold onto at lastโ€ฆ

breathing in lifeโ€™s energy,
we wrestle with time,
and the nature
of the agonies
written upon
the sands
of our collective destiniesโ€ฆas

light shows back up,
speaking in the language
of love lost, pain healed, and
compassion given out, to all those that shout,
curse at the skies, and wonder whyโ€ฆ

as deep inside,
we recognize our face
in the collection of pictures
we see in the mirror

of our humanity,
as we (re)adjust within
and get ready to again beginโ€ฆ


#poetry, #contemplation, #dark, #emotion, #feeling, #healing, #humanity, #introspection, #intuition, #life, #light, #love, #mind, #pain, #poem, #time

something altogether unbelievable, Published at MasticadoresUSA

Photo by Quinton Coetzee on Unsplash

I am so pleased to announce that my poem, something altogether unbelievable, is now available at MasticadoresUSA. A big thank you to, Gabriela Marie Milton, and the team at MasticadoresUSA for their continued support, and for publishing this piece.

something altogether unbelievable

the iridescent
lamp
casts a shadow
over the carnage
seen, within the myriad
of moments
taken away from meโ€ฆ

I would be honored if you would go here and read the rest of my poem. Thank you!


#poetry, #awareness, #contemplation, #emotions, #introspection, #life, #love, #nature, #pain, #poem, #reflection, #surrender

Shining Heart

Photo by Erik Witsoe on Unsplash

watching life
move by, disengaged
as it rattles around
in my brain
without significance
or a way to rebound

detached
from reality,
like a kite that loses
itโ€™s tether,
and flies off into
space with nary a
tarry nor a sound,
not heard, and never found

reflective processes
go unnoticed,
buried deep in
the heart, without
a tool to unearth
the myriad of possibilities
that live for a rebirth

then,

a shift
in consciousness
comes calling,
releasing the pain
a little at a time

and,

new tools
are brought forth,
provided by people
just like
you and me,
whoโ€™ve already
dug deep
removing the layers
of debris,
shining heart
we can now see


Utmost Feelings โ€“ Just Released!

If youโ€™ve not yet checked out Asthaโ€™s Anthology, Utmost Feelings, well, you can now order it online. Hereโ€™s where you can find it:

Paperback-

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/9390817455

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9390817455

Amazon DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/9390817455

Amazon FR: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/9390817455

Amazon ES: https://www.amazon.es/dp/9390817455

Amazon IT: https://www.amazon.it/dp/9390817455

Amazon JP: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/9390817455

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/9390817455

Ebook

Payhip- https://payhip.com/b/DjE8x

Kobo Books- https://www.kobo.com/in/en/ebook/utmost-feelings

B&N Press- https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/utmost-feelings-astha-srivastava/1139758293?ean=2940162372431

#poetry, #connection, #contemplation, #emotions, #heart, #huamnity, #introspetion, #life, #love, #pain, #poem, #poems, #reflection, #resilience, #shiningheart

we wave goodbye

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

the tree sways
in the wind,
just as the life
we live comes to
bear on all our sins

past mistakes,
felt deep within,
often shunned,
in favor of a wide-
eyed grin

hiding the story
weโ€™ve kept
bottled up,
and locked tight
away
from imaginings
of another day

we dig deep
into those fields
of amber,
and recollected
memories
of all our patterns

excavating them
one at a time,
we relish each moment,
even though,
we are present
to the pain conveyed

radiating from
the center,
shuttering, and
quaking from all
our errors

splitting time
in two,
past
meets present
in a dance of
healing, and
a whole lot of feeling

calmly,
we breathe
through the pain,
and realize
itโ€™s just another day

one at a time,
now,
we prepare
ourselves
for a lullaby,
and to our
dismay, we
wave
goodbye


Utmost Feelings โ€“ Just Released!

If youโ€™ve not yet checked out Asthaโ€™s Anthology, Utmost Feelings, well, you can now order it online. Hereโ€™s where you can find it:

Paperback-

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/9390817455

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9390817455

Amazon DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/9390817455

Amazon FR: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/9390817455

Amazon ES: https://www.amazon.es/dp/9390817455

Amazon IT: https://www.amazon.it/dp/9390817455

Amazon JP: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/9390817455

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/9390817455

Ebook

Payhip- https://payhip.com/b/DjE8x

Kobo Books- https://www.kobo.com/in/en/ebook/utmost-feelings

B&N Press- https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/utmost-feelings-astha-srivastava/1139758293?ean=2940162372431

#poetry, #contemplation, #emotions, #gain, #healing, #introspection, #life, #loss, #love, #pain, #poem, #poems

A Collective Magnitude

Photo by Daniel Olah on Unsplash

Fingers clutching,
gripping, and
ripping
at the pain,
tearing away, yet,
another piece of me
from the fray.

As they walk
along the edges
of my pain, I,
at times feel dismay, and
a growing sense of tame,
which was once only known
to me as shame.

I can taste the bitterness
of the pain endured,
and taught to me and you,
yet, for now, let us refrain.

We all learn to walk once,
and as age progresses, we
may learn to again
walk through
that door of obsessions.

A door once closed,
becomes a profound
sense of renewal,
just as a key lost
and now found,
opened the door

once more.

Heart fit the lock
just right, and
what came walking through,
sent me into
a love so cavernous,
itโ€™s all one can do
to simply
become ravenous
.

Filling oneself
on lifeโ€™s love,
jubilant and triumphant, and
all the while

humbled by gratitude
of a collective magnitude.


Utmost Feelings โ€“ Coming Soon!

If youโ€™ve not yet checked out Asthaโ€™s Anthology, Utmost Feelings, please check it out when you have a chance, and share as you are able. Thank you.

Additionally, the coauthors of Asthaโ€™s Anthology, Utmost Feelings, are creating a space for people to send their sentiments to Asthaโ€™s family.

If you are interested, please add your sentiments to this form, thank you, and stay blessed.

#poetry, #connection, #gratitude, #heart, #humanity, #life, #love, #magnitude, #pain, #poem, #poems, #shared

Sealing and Healing

Photo by Anthony Intraversato on Unsplash

Trauma and pain
go together,
and as I sit here
and type this poem,
Iโ€™m reflecting upon
this personโ€™s pain, and
all of the memories
that are the impetus for such
agony and drain.

The memories
are like splinters
in my heart,
and run deep, just like
a fracture in the earth,
which, in times of
great consternation
split wide open,
spilling forth
the earthโ€™s contents
from itโ€™s very core.

And,
just like our beautiful
Motherโ€™s fractures,
these splinters of the heart,
widen with time,
until momentum enough
is created,
and everything comes
spilling forth.

Yet,
this truth does not
live in isolation
from the sealing
and healing
of those splinters of heart,
and fractures of earth,
which gather together
over time.

Acknowledging
their existence,
and filling them,
one and all,
with love and compassion
is a remedy
that I truly adore.

#poetry, #contemplation, #fractures, #heal, #heart, #introspection, #life, #love, #pain, #poem, #poems, #sealingandhealing

Becoming (2)

On December 3, 2020, I wrote and posted the poem, Becoming, and then about a week ago I wrote another poem, yep, you guessed it, also called Becoming. Iโ€™m sure this has happened to you, and it has for me too; yet, this time, I wanted to post the second poem as it is, title and all.

In a way, I think it is perfectly appropriate for this past year. A time of struggle, death, and extreme hardship in so many different ways; and a time of hope, life, and extreme gratitude. I am holding these concepts with you, and the space inbetween, as I present this second poem on becoming.

As I sit and ponder, and also wonder,
and, yes, sometimes feel flustered with
the emotions coming, all the while I know
Iโ€™m becoming.

Something different each day, while sitting
in the midst of the presence of the thinking
and never ending feelings.

Itโ€™s hard as the tears come,
sometimes itโ€™s a trickle and not a flood. While
at other times, the flood would feel like a respite,
with the tsunami of tears pouring forth.

Sometimes itโ€™s a song, or a quick flash
of a not so distant past. It feels, moves, and
pushes the limits of the pain I think is possible
to bear, and then just when I think subside is in
stride, I break again.

Darkness envelops me, and I bend over
the pain pulling me towards the floor, where
at times I feel like Iโ€™ll learn more.

Just lay there and be, and let the emotions
wash over me. One wave and then the next,
they pass through, and time becomes something
extraordinary.

And, yet, my dear, just like you, they stop coming,
all the while thereโ€™s still more incoming. I pick myself up,
wash my face, and look at the person staring back
through the picture of my mirrored life forthcoming.

He wears a smile with swollen eyes, face damp
with the salted tears of years of trying. Yet, deep down
he knows, while trying is a piece of the whole, itโ€™s in
the doing where the scattered fragments
become one, as we march towards
our continual becoming.

#poetry, #becoming, #death, #emotions, #hope, #life, #loss, #love, #pain, #poem, #poems

Pain

Photo by Warren Wong on Unsplash

Comes
In many forms, and
Begins
When you are born,

To this world
Of misery,
And jubilation, yes,

They do coexist,
And are stable

A match made in
Heaven, they say

Though itโ€™s quite
Possible, some are
Astray, lost beyond the

Dunes of hope

Yet,
They too
Will find their way
Back to a joyous heart

Before they
Depart this plane

And watch the pain
Melt away

Know though,
You may stay
On this plane, and
Find a release

From your birthright
Of pain

And, yes,
It does
Take days to
Conceive of the

Proper place
To set down
Your burden

Yet,
Also know
There are places
Found for such excursions

Within

So, take the
Time needed, and
Dive deep toward
Your center

Where your pain is
Like a lost treasure,
Residing, and,
Maybe too, hiding,

Awaiting an
Uncovering

A freeing
Among the rest, so
Donโ€™t be beset,
Go into your pain,
And let it rain

Until

The day
Comes to say
All is as it should be,

And wave goodbye
to it all

Letting go,
Of the pain
Youโ€™ve been carrying
With forestalled
Anticipation, and
Clever precipitation,

Be as it may,
Your pain, my dear, will
Eventually go away

#poetry, #heart, #joy, #life, #love, #pain, #poem, #poems