The Process of Poetry

Laguna Chaxa, Atacama Dessert, Chile

running into a realm

as dry as the driest desert

sweltering, unforgiving

they scorch me

baked barren

I stumble for words

leaning on them

phrases, clutches

I swallow 

a speck of salt hoping saved

not lost by the thirst

of my primitive gait

flowing into a realm

as deep as the oceanbed

towering waves, powering roar

they drench me

engulfed gorged 

I swim in words

paddling with them

phrases, rafts

I float 

a droplet hoping saved

not dried, mundaned

by my feverish strokes

feeling into a realm

like hued mammoth mountains

majestic, unfathomable 

they quiet me

humbled, tamed 

I look for words

grasping them

phrases, prayers

I breathe

a few rhythms hoping saved

not unfelt, abandoned 

by my weak heartbeat

by mansikakkar

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Thumbnail Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash