by Tony Schanuel
Traditions
The prayers
Rolled over grandma’s tongue
Like the sweet song
Of a nightingale at night
Natural, clean, beautiful
But as the ritual goes on
My mind wanders on
To distant places
Unforeseen
I glance at mum, dad
Calmly listening, eyes closed, hands clasped
Yet their lips stay still
Are these words as unfamiliar
To them as to me?
The lull in her voice, musical tone
Only just a melody?
Looking down I tug my kurta,
Hanging just below my knees
Which not a few minutes ago
Were covered with washed-out, faded blue jeans
The boy with the white kurta?
Or the one with faded blue jeans
Eyes shift to the center of the room
Grandma’s hand in mine, we complete the aarthi
But as I hold the candle in my hand,
I lose my compass
I need her to guide me
The same hands which so deftly carved pumpkins during Halloween
Now shaking with unfamiliarity
The boy who knows well to do an aarthi,
Or the one whose pumpkins shimmer during Halloween?
I feel the threads of the sacred kupada slip
Off the table
through my fingertips
Reaching with both my hands
Trembling, grasping onto all I can
I won’t let this part of me
go
The prayers
Roll over my tongue
Like the sweet song
Of a nightingale in the day
Unfamiliar, strange
Beautiful.
Both
Aaryan Doshi often uses writing and poetry as a medium through which to express his thoughts. He is the published author of the book Designing on the Brink: Products for a Climate in Crisis. Aaryan is passionate about climate change and frequently speaks at city council meetings and volunteers in his community for these causes.
Tony Schanuel is an award-winning photographer and visual artist who has fused a professional background in photography, digital technology, and painting and mark making to create fine art that transcends those mediums. His work has been featured in Digital Imaging Magazine, Computer Graphic Magazine, Wild Heart Journal, St. Louis Design Magazine, and is a featured artist in Cyber Palette and Extreme Graphics, two books showcasing digital artists and their work. He has exhibited at the Florence Biennale and his art is held in private and corporate collections including the Fine Arts Museum of Houston permanent photographic collection. http://www.schanuelphoto.com/.