simonhlilly

DHRUPAD 7 (winding road)

A, re, ne, na. Look, look now.
A drift of words, drifting clouding by the light dark dismal gentle day.
I could I could reach out to touch or let them
let them slide away, té te re ne na,
way into the green rain, moss rain, fern green
glorious dip and swell and steam rising rain.
Where and here the hills fade and curtain,
and the trees one by one come and go in the green heavy rise of rain
and day May blossom fingers the hedge
the cowslip sliding clouds nodding down a yes and a no
and a heavy cool falling air
the steam the mist of it rising up
a smudge green and golden and clouds on top,
and below the lonely empty road winding lost and humming between the hill hedge and sweeping swooping swallows
Ri re re ne na,
and the larks on their nest,
the sky to float upwards in, no sky today,
It is all falling blessings on dry earth
and thirsty work for plants this fast, fierce growing.
Look look there is nothing
yet words float
world words
floating in white distance,
cloud world,
word vapour. Look.
Te ne toom ne.
—

The syllables sprinkled throughout are the traditional mantra, said to derive from Sama Veda, used by singers of dhrupad in their alap (slow development phase), instead of words.