Holding Time Still! Poem by Varanasi Ramabrahmam

Holding time still,
It is not possible I know;

Freedom from time
Is impossible to get, I am aware;

Taming time or its passage
Are next to impossible to me;

Still I long for transcending time
To free myself from aches, pains, hurts,
Worries, fears, anxieties, apprehensions;

Thoughts make me worried, anxious
Frightened, apprehensive and painful, and rarely pleasant;

I wish to be free from all these,

The past and the future,
the memory and apprehension;
the two phases of Time;

That cause inconvenience to me
And torture me occasionally.

But unless I transcend
The functioning of my mind and be a mere seer

I cannot hold time still
And attain freedom to be still;

How I wish for peace,
Bliss and silence;
To dawn and dwell in me!

To hold time still
By, me becoming one with
The Divinity, the Self
Freeing myself
From vicissitudes and vagaries of time-conscious mind
Making my mind still and tranquil;

I long to hold time still and be tranquil
Till my breath stops and body becomes still

How I wish for peace, bliss and silence,
When my unreal “I” merges in such serene essence;

Then seconds may become minutes;
Minutes hours and hours, days;

Days months, months years, and decades,
Centuries, millennium;

I always remain a flow of tranquility

How I wish to hold time still
And be free from time
In serene times
When my mind merges in its source, the Self!