by Megha Sood
Silence rests on the edge of my hand
a slight movement and it breaks the facade of
stillness;
of eternity, of longevity and more.
my body lies supine
within this tall grass
scorched by the sun
whitened by the heat
emptiness seeps slowly making a long trail
as that of the tears on my cheeks
everything around me bears a mask
long charades of the futile movement
my body is convulsing
slithering like a snake in the grass
deception morphs and molds in myriad ways
that surreptitious movement
a praying mantis moves on a blade of grass
breaking the stillness
the long sigh
the cycle starts again
Silence exists hiding between the short gasps of stillness
and long sighs of the voiceless din.
the mantis bows the head to the sun. Genuflects.
the day begins again.
Megha Sood lives in Jersey City, New Jersey. She is a contributing author at GoDogGO Cafe, Candles Online, Free Verse Revolution, Whisper and the Roar, Poets Corner and contributing editor at Ariel Chart.
Her 290+ works have been featured in 521 Magazine #Sideshow, Oddball, Pangolin review, Fourth and Sycamore, Paragon Press, Royal Rose, Visitant Lit, Quail Bell, Modern Literature, Visual Verse, Dime show review, Nightingale and Sparrow, Piker Press and many more. Her poetry has recently been published in the anthology “We will not be silenced” by Indie Blu(e) Publishing, (“All the Lonely people”, Blank Paper Press) and upcoming in ten other anthologies by US, Australian and Canadian Press. Her poem “Survivor” was selected for the “Survival is Insufficient” series by the Jersey City Writers as part of the event sponsored by the National Endowment of Arts.
She recently won the 1st prize in NAMI NJ Dara Axelrod Mental Health Poetry contest. She blogs at https://meghasworldsite.wordpress.com/.