The Cactus

We grow in the night
When nobody’s looking
Away from the harsh glare
As the frantic work of the day
Starts seeping in
When daydreams coalesce with nightmares
And wheat is sifted from the chaff

Do you see, even a cactus
Thorny and defensive
Growing in wilderness
Water so scarce
Love so bare
Will still send her best offering
A yellow bloom
Without fail every Spring

As if to say
I will take what I find
And turn it to gold
I am Alchemy
In heat or cold
I will not fold.

—Shaku Selvakumar May 2013

Prickly Pear Cactus

May

What is this foreboding I feel
Of this unnatural cold still sniping at my heels
Tainting the budding, exultant month of May
Of wind moaning like an old soul’s fury
Recalling the boons granted to man
Sweeping across the unbalanced land
Unraveling alliances of old
Dealing a different, cautioning hand

–Shaku Selvakumar, May 2, 2013

Wind
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Persistence

I stepped off one path and found I had to pave another
Some days I have to take three steps back
Reverse slightly and take the detour
Then I retreat
And wonder what will become of me

Some days I gasp in awe
With what a single turn can unfold
The vital scenery, the possibilities
I find myself in a dialog directly with life’s mystery
All dots seem to connect instantly

These days I hold on with tenacity
These days of singular grace and generosity
Given casually
Benediction in exchange for acceptance
And stubborn persistence

—Shaku Selvakumar May 1, 2013

Waiting for luck
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