‘What do I give you?’: Publisher-poet Naveen Kishore’s gift to readers during difficult times

What do I give you?

I

The little girl reached into her eyes seeking.
The light that lay hidden. Finding.
The first half in one. And the second
in the other. She gently eased it out.
From her now glowing eyes.
Stretching her arm. She managed.
To reach far into the sky.
And place first the one. Then.
The other. In a long unbroken line.

The light stretched. From
one end to the other.
As far as the eyes could see.

The birth of the first horizon known to humankind.

II

You wake up with the dawn. You remember the one I mean? The one at the end of the horizon? Stitched by the little girl? Using fabric cut out of the blue sky? And embroidered with fluffy white clouds? That’s the one.

You breathe in the brisk cold air and plunge into the pool of dew wearing only your bare feet.

Later you warm your tingling body with the first rays of the morning. Slip into a dress woven fresh by the mist. Laced with the gold of an unrestrained sun.

You do not comb your hair. For the wind will have made its home in it. Leave it open. And flowing.

Now you are ready for the magic.

Reach for the book. The one with the golden spine. Open it on any page. Now sing the words that swim before you. Sing of the dawn. You remember the one I mean? The one at the end of the horizon? Stitched by the little girl? Using fabric...

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