Levitating

Suits meet, banter about deals,
conspiratorial heads bent, deep
throaty laughs, confidence reeking.

I glide by, imperceptibly, am a whisper
on the window of their intensity.

Families congregate on front lawns,
squeals of delight trailing blurs,
adult murmurs lost in shrill echoes.

I float on by, an ethereal witness,
no more than the wisp of a cloud.

Only a dog, unleashed, catches
a whiff of something inexplicable,
gives chase, nips at nothingness.

I am elusive, lacking substance,
he retreats bewildered, interest lost.

Am I somehow flawed,  I wonder
aloud to the gathering of females
draped across my bed, intrigued

Have landed now, solidly connected
to this other-abled reality, grounded.

Intimate discussions of life’s mystery
peaks interest, all want to learn to fly,
beg me to demonstrate, inspired to try.

Detachment is the secret, I reveal;
just launch yourself and release.

Instincts grasp to offer support,
arms reaching out in assistance,
roots hindering their deliverance.

Alone, I swirl above reeling minds
dissolve into the mist, am free.

(It’s poetics night at dVerse and our host, Gina, asks us to consider our poetic hum – what duality we lead.  For three years, I lived an isolated, bedridden existence, while the rest of the world hummed along (pun intended).  It was fertile ground for writing.  The poem, Levitating, was written 3 years ago, and immediately came to mind when I read the prompt.)

 

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VJ

Permission to write, paint, and imagine are the gifts I gave myself when chronic illness hit - a fair exchange: being for doing. Relevance is an attitude. Humour essential.

50 thoughts on “Levitating”

  2. Stunning piece. “Detachment is the secret, I reveal; just launch yourself and release.” – stellar lines as also noted by some of your commenters. Plus, the last two lines are a perfect finale.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Love this! And like so many others, “I glide by, imperceptibly, am a whisper / on the window of their intensity” really nailed me. Brings back some out of body memories from years ago when I did a lot of yoga…

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Pingback: One-Liner Wednesday – Levitate – Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

  10. There is a dichotomy here, in the strength of not willing to be constrained while being “flawed.” It shows that we are only as helpless as we allow ourselves to think we are.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. This is well worth repeating! At first I thought the narrator was a ghost. The truth is more powerful. Jack London wrote a story about being in prison, in solitary confinement and astral projecting. A trick that narrator had time to learn and came to enjoy, never having been so free. This put me in mind of that.

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    1. Interesting. The poem came out of a dream where I was doing just what I write about. Being confined to a bed, I realized, gave me an altered perception of life – I became ghost-like, unseen – a forced objectivity, if you like.

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  16. You are strong to keep your poetic mind active and writing too. I really like this part and inspire me to just go for it:

    Detachment is the secret, I reveal;
    just launch yourself and release.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. These are my favorites:

    “Only a dog, unleashed, catches
    a whiff of something inexplicable,
    gives chase, nips at nothingness.”

    “Detachment is the secret, I reveal;
    just launch yourself and release.”

    Liked by 1 person

  18. I understood your poem perfectly V.J.. I’ve been there levitating, and you expressed it beautifully, and I especially liked this stanza
    “Only a dog, unleashed, catches
    a whiff of something inexplicable,
    gives chase, nips at nothingness.”

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Confined to bed, what mercy it is to levitate and free the mind to explore. Such a beautiful write. I also liked that “whisper on the window of intensity”. Thank you for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

  22. I like the form of this poem, V.J., which separates the two voices while at the same time bringing them together. For me, the suits and their bantering and throaty laughs, moved into the background and I heard the whisper in the foreground. I was never happy working in an office. I love the lines:
    ‘I glide by, imperceptibly, am a whisper
    on the window of their intensity’.

    Liked by 1 person

  24. i love this one V.J! reminds of the strength Frida Kahlo had, you show the same, while the world hummed and maybe even screamed around you, you listened to a deeper voice. one that you remain true to till today, never compromising on what you are truly worth though you may have doubted yourself at times, often the duality or multiplicity of our life dilutes our true self you seem to conquer that. this was a beautiful description of your poetic hum.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. that’s the duality of our nature I wanted poets to ponder upon, you say self-doubt, I on the other hand hide, behind words, under hats and secrets and lies. but through our writing we can trash all this out! your response was most honest and straight to the heart

        Liked by 1 person

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