#119: If you could be soft
Mindful by Mary Oliver
Everyday
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for —
to look, to listen,
to lose myself
inside this soft world —
to instruct myself
over and over
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant —
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these —
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean’s shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?
Other poems that remind you to be soft, and slow down:
1. If you could be soft by Nina Alvarez
If you could be soft in what you are. In what you’ve felt in the world.
If you could release, just for a moment, how he held you, or how the kids should have come home.
If you just put down the can of paint. Listen.
All along you’ve been waiting. A couple long sighs, a piece of the way things wave and you’re off.
Have you considered much what it is to sit on the lawn. What is under your fingers, what is under your hands. And how to live an agreeable life, and how much it takes in a night to get through what you must first get through in order to just sit here and be happy.
2. Walk Slowly by Danna Faulds
It only takes a reminder to breathe,
a moment to be still, and just like that,
something in me settles, softens, makes
space for imperfection. The harsh voice
of judgment drops to a whisper and I
remember again that life isn't a relay
race; that we will all cross the finish
line; that waking up to life is what we
were born for. As many times as I
forget, catch myself charging forward
without even knowing where I'm going,
that many times I can make the choice
to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk
slowly into the mystery.
3. Night Falls Like a Button by Chen Chen
from your grandmother’s coat. You worry with your thumb the stranger’s page. Aging spine of the black sky, night-burps of the sleeping computer. Don’t listen to the judgment of your scraped knees. Night anchors in your belly button, your pubic hair. Stars snore safely, for years. Your smile in the early dark is a paraphrase of Mars. Your smile in the deep dark is an anagram of Jupiter. My worst simile is that I’m fancy like a piece of salami wearing a tuxedo. Waiting with a cone of gelato. Your smile in the dreaming dark is an umbrella for all the going, gone, & yet to come. Orioles come for the oranges you’ve placed in the arms of the architect. Which birds will you pull into orbit tomorrow? You try to sew the night onto your own coat, but it won’t stay. Too much memory weather, werewolf migration. You itch for the window’s shore. You row, the growing light rearranging your voice, the rain your lunatic photographer.
Recommended Listening:
-The Moment - Tame Impala
-Max Richter launched a Sleep app!
-lofi beats to socially distance to by Gautam Srikishan
-It's an Édith Piaf kinda Monday
-Loneliness of the Stage Performer - Hotel Lux
Links of the Week:
It's been over a month of being home in Calcutta, away from my little 1bhk in Bangalore where I spent most of 2020 alone. The first bouts of restlessness have started presenting themselves, so I've been consuming a lot of poems, videos and animations that the explore the theme of self-acceptance and aloneness these days:
-How to be at home (A beautiful collaboration between filmmaker Andrea Dorfman and poet Tanya Davis)
-Letter to My Body by Joy Ladin (A Poetry Film by Elyse Kelly)
-Creativity in the Digital Age - Deep Dive with Austin Kleon (forever learning from this beautiful man)
-The Secret Life of Trees: Stunning Sylvan Drawings by indigenous artists based on Indian mythology (Tara Books on Brain Pickings! :') )
-#Poet Chen Chen on "Home Alone," Queer Kinship, Writing Trauma, & Vulnerability
-Register: General Assembly's Free Festival
Interview: Hrishikesh Hirway on adapting Song Exploder to a Netflix series
“It felt like I was trying to build a house for myself out of a life in music, and just as I was starting to work on the second room, I discovered a hidden door that I had not built myself. And when I went through it, it led to this whole other part of the house that I didn’t even know existed. I thought I’d looked at the blueprints and it turns out there’s a whole other section that I’m still discovering!”
-Hrishikesh on the transition from musician to podcaster to TV producer
I had a chance to speak to Hrishikesh Hirway, the man behind Song Exploder, on adapting his podcast to a brilliant docu series on Netflix. Read the full piece on Hyperallergic.
This is my newsletter #15: SquidInk Studio
For #15 of This is my newsletter, we had SquidInk Studio from Bangalore take us through what’s been inspiring them these past few months, what they’ve been cooking, how they’ve tended to their balcony garden, what’s on their playlist and other means of nurturing that kept them going. Read the delightfully compiled newsletter here.
New on the Website:
1. World Within by Sakshi Jain
World Within is a visual interpretation by animator-designer Sakshi Jain trying a thread between introspective poems by three generations by the artist's late grandfather, father and herself. It talks about ignorance, storm and then leads to peace. Read about the film and watch it here.
2.November arriving by Debmalya Bandyopadhyay (excerpt)
The leaves will fall into water and lose their temper.
Across the night, our lightning verses will shoot
and separate the sky.
I will sleep early and hold the scalpel of time
over my hurried schedule.
This is how November shall arrive,
and fill my laments in throwaway tin boxes
that I always forget to pack.
You can also read Winter Poem by Debmalya here.
3. Artist Showcase: Daniel Jamie Williams
I recently discovered the work of London-based illustrator and animator, and am absolutely in love with his style. Check out more of his work here.
4. Niyogi Books x The Alipore Post: Shades of Kashmir by Shome Basu
In Shades of Kashmir, photojournalist Shome Basu attempts to tell the story of everyday life in the Valley, capturing the inner unrest, the unseen reality that is often missed. Women playing cricket on one page; roaring protests, death and half-wives in others. Shome captures the many shades of conflict in Kashmir with a sense of empathy and sensitivity. He uses the camera to tell stories that one would otherwise avoid seeing yet evokes a sense of humanity.
This was the first book I chose to read and highlight as part of my month-long collaboration with Niyogi Books because it's so crucial to keep the conversation about Kashmir going. Check out some photographs from the book here, and order the book here.
I’ll end this newsletter with a few entries from my gratitude journal from last week. It’s really wonderful how the seemingly small things add up.
-Woke up early to spend time with Ma, and watch the sunrise together
-Made a blanket fort for my 4-year-old niece, and had ourselves a perfect Sunday
-Wrote a letter to a loved one, and added some recent sketches in it
-Reduced my screen time by one hour
-Finished reading The Aye Aye & I by Gerald Durrell
-Savoured my afternoon naps, now a part of my winter self care routine
-Took out all my sweaters and put them out in the sun (Yay, sweater weather!)
That’s all for this week! Please feel free to reply to these newsletters and let me know if something resonated . Always nice to hear from you, dear reader! :)
Stay safe and please don’t burst crackers,
Rohini
If you enjoy the newsletter or wish to support my endeavours, do consider becoming a supporter on Patreon/to thealiporepost@okhdfcbank via UPI.