Phoenix Poem by Nalini Priyadarshni

Segmented lives
story line of a new movie
badly edited
one thing does not lead to another
only to confusion...
...and fear

Broken images stare back
from the fragmented mirror
as I gasp for air
living a hundred lives
dwarfed...

I had my own sky
for a moment
price is rest of my life
but I lived
I was alive if only for a moment
the putrid smell of sadness and wisdom
emanates from what was alive once.

Laughter, bloating numbness,
and pain, rising alternatively.
blow was heavy and swift,
still stinging into my skin
making the sting of successive
blows insignificant

I am no longer myself
what I am afraid of is that
someday I will rise
and be myself again