In time
When darkness spills darkness
And one lives in a broken nest of alphabets
Where mother bird is a swear word-
All I can do is
Learn to stop saying yes
When I don’t mean it-
All the while
Wearing a homely smile-
The new button-
Posted for Susan’s Midweek Motif ~ Starting Over @ Poets United
sumanar/lekha 
To move past the frozen responses is quite a feat when life breaks and you are forced to start over. This image will stay with me forever:
“When darkness spills darkness
And one lives in a broken nest of alphabets
Where mother bird is a swear word . . . “
Every time we learn something new (in this case, not saying yes all the time), we are starting over.
The sort of trouble we would avoid, if we volume only stick to “No” when we need to. Darkness would be so much brighter, if we could…
Powerful and poignant in its diction and imagery, Sumana! ❤️
Let NO be your friend. When you become a curmudgeonly old woman you can say NO to everything and never give a reason. NO homely smiles either. Just hiss… It’s fantastic:)
Aww, the yes word… I know what you mean. This is very familiar.
That is a big learning, not saying yes when we dont mean it……..It took me seventy years to finally claim my days as my own. Whew. Better late than never, I guess. Smiles.
Yes, “No can come in handy.” Best to say, when you mean it. It takes a while, but good to learn before the end.
Perfectly worded, tight poem, that sings with astonishing images …. a broken nest of alphabets and mother bird is a swear word? — wow, just stunning …
this is just such a wonderful, layered poem – I can (and will) read this repeatedly, all day – because it just hums a bright song, even for its own darknesses.
That innocent grin of negativity that keeps your opinions to yourself and offends no one. The valuable asset of tact!
Oh they are such strong images, Sumana, the darkness spilling darkness and the ‘broken nest of alphabets / Where mother bird is a swear word’. This situation is so familiar to one who has never learnt to stop saying yes and always wears a homely smile. I definitely need a new button!
“Learn to stop saying yes / When I don’t mean it-” Yes, yes and yes…the difficulty of a simple No. You nailed it!
That new button is much needed. Luv your images, particularly “And one lives in a broken nest of alphabets”
HAPPY NEW YEAR
thanks for dropping by my blog
Much🎉love
That is a great resolution!
“And one lives in a broken nest of alphabets”
Such a profound thought and picture. Excellent poem, Sumana!