Art by my new favourite Indian artist, Nayanaa Kanodia
Last Day on Earth by Lawrence Raab
If it’s the title of a movie you expect
everything to become important—a kiss,
a shrug, a glass of wine, a walk with the dog.
But if the day is real, life is only
as significant as yesterday—the kiss
hurried, the shrug forgotten, and now,
on the path by the river, you don’t notice
the sky darkening beyond the pines because
you’re imagining what you’ll say at dinner,
swirling the wine in your glass.
You don’t notice the birds growing silent
or the cold towers of clouds moving in,
because you’re explaining how lovely
and cool it was in the woods. And the dog
had stopped limping!—she seemed
her old self again, sniffing the air and alert,
the way dogs are to whatever we can’t see.
And I was happy, you hear yourself saying,
because it felt as if I’d been allowed
to choose my last day on earth,
and this was the one I chose.
Other poems I read last week:
"Last time we went swimming
The sea stood up and hugged you
As though you were responsible
For keeping it blue." -Drown by Bianca Stewart
"Nothing was wasted in our kitchens.
We took the unused & the throwaways
& made feasts;
we taught our children
how to survive,
adapt.
So I write this poem
in praise of okra
& the cooks who understood
how to make something out of nothing." -from In Praise of Okra by January Gill O'Neil
"And if we don’t fight
if we don’t resist
if we don’t organize and unify and
get the power to control our own lives
Then we will wear
the exaggerated look of captivity
the stylized look of submission
the bizarre look of suicide
the dehumanized look of fear
and the decomposed look of repression
forever and ever and ever
And there it is" -from There It Is by Jayne Cortez
"I suspect,
wildness can live in the suburbs only so long
as it doesn’t bare its teeth; so long as when the light
finds it, it drops its prey and wags its tail;
so long as we confine our darkness to the dark." -from Leaving Home by Jessica Jacobs
Recommended Listening:
The End of the World - Sharon Van Etten
We Can't Be Friends - Dream Koala
Podcast: This movie changed me (On Being Studios have a new podcast, and it's everything amazing!)
Podcast: Heart of Conservation
Just Like Honey - The Jesus and Mary Chain
Links of the Week:
Grappling with my mother's universe (a new friend in my life wrote this about dealing with her mother's psychosis. It's a beautiful read, which reminded me of a collection of stories A Book of Light. Do read the essay, and the book.)
I want to make men less violent through my stories: National Award-winning screenwriter Syam Pushkaran (please go watch Kumbalangi Nights if you haven't already!)
Lee Hadwin: The Sleepwalking Artist
"Dig deeper into the conversation about sustainable fashion" - Kriti Tula of Doodlage
Instagram lovin':
Champaca (I've joined this wonderful independent bookstore in Bangalore to help out with social media/marketing. Do follow, support and visit us! :) )
GIF by Darién Sánchez
Good night for now. Have a good (enough) week.
-Rohini