Singapore
KANCHENJUNGA SUNRISE
Today I celebrate
the Kanchenjunga
with words. I bow to
her plenitude.
Pristine and white,
she turns gold as
the first ray radiates
a new day, new-born.
And yet, she stands
there, old as the hills,
older than you, me
and all our past lives.
She absorbs to
irradiate peace and
benevolence to
those who believe.
Grandeur, abundance,
opulence that nature
nurtures with love glow as
the Kanchenjunga turns gold.
The Kanchenjunga was,
is and will be—we may
fade but the golden
Kanchenjunga will remain.
Today I celebrate
the Kanchenjunga
with words. I bow to
her plenitude.
Pristine and white,
she turns gold as
the first ray radiates
a new day, new-born.
And yet, she stands
there, old as the hills,
older than you, me
and all our past lives.
She absorbs to
irradiate peace and
benevolence to
those who believe.
Grandeur, abundance,
opulence that nature
nurtures with love glow as
the Kanchenjunga turns gold.
The Kanchenjunga was,
is and will be—we may
fade but the golden
Kanchenjunga will remain.
FROM THE ZENITH
The Kanchenjunga—
Was she gold when
Lucy sang lullabies
in arboreal Africa?
Did the sunrise shine
on her pristine slopes,
when humans walked
across the Bering bridge?
Was she there when
Genghis or Napoleon
with their hordes dreamt
of conquests and empires?
Did she weep mists
when borders spilled
blood to incarnadine
sunsets, darken nights?
Does she still watch history
unfold daily from her high
vantage point at one of
the zeniths of the Earth?
SUNRISE
The grey town
wakes up to a
bustle of colours.
The sun shines
shades into our lives,
vernal green into trees.
Bricks and mortar
intrude into grassy lands.
They stand unmoved.
The grey town
wakes up to a
bustle of colours.
The sun shines
shades into our lives,
vernal green into trees.
Bricks and mortar
intrude into grassy lands.
They stand unmoved.
THE RIVER
Glittering, the river flows
towards the sea, burying
mysteries in its dark womb.
Timeless stories, adventures,
pirates, ships and mermaid
tales grow out of waves.
The sailor weaves a tale
while gazing at an expanse
of malleable watery stretches.
His stories are fluid like the
liquid on which he lives. We
believe or not is our own will.
A PAGAN PRAYER (OR A LOVE SONG)
Let the peace
of birds, skies
and greens seep
into me.
Let the rays of
sunshine peeping
out of clouds
energize my being.
Let me feel the
Universe within
my lungs, my heart,
my head, my feet.
Let me ride the
breeze to distant
lands, touch the sun
with unscalded hands.
Let me dissolve
my every molecule
into the grass that
covers all land.
Let me be
a part of this
borderless entity
wafting… living… loving...
Today’s LittleNip:
COOKING
—Mitali Chakravarty
I cook stories
of my life. Long
ago, I broiled,
boiled and basted
food. Now I only
cook stories in
broths of imagined
worlds to seal
with love.
___________________
Mitali Chakravarty, who first visited the Kitchen in June of 2024, has two books of poems: Flight of the Angsana Oriole (2023), and Cities, Nomads and Rocks (2024). She has edited two anthologies, one on violence against women in South Asia, Our Stories, Our Struggles (2024), the other, a collection from Borderless Journal, Monalisa No Longer Smiles (2022). Mitali rests in clouds and edits borderlessjournal.com/, an exploration of a world beyond borders.
About her photos, Mitali writes: “I am sending you photographs of a Kanchenjunga sunrise which I took on 2/2/2025; I have sent you two poems about the sunrise. It’s a stupendous experience. I saw it from an altitude of 2.5 kms, from a place called Ghoom.”
ago, I broiled,
boiled and basted
food. Now I only
cook stories in
broths of imagined
worlds to seal
with love.
___________________
Mitali Chakravarty, who first visited the Kitchen in June of 2024, has two books of poems: Flight of the Angsana Oriole (2023), and Cities, Nomads and Rocks (2024). She has edited two anthologies, one on violence against women in South Asia, Our Stories, Our Struggles (2024), the other, a collection from Borderless Journal, Monalisa No Longer Smiles (2022). Mitali rests in clouds and edits borderlessjournal.com/, an exploration of a world beyond borders.
About her photos, Mitali writes: “I am sending you photographs of a Kanchenjunga sunrise which I took on 2/2/2025; I have sent you two poems about the sunrise. It’s a stupendous experience. I saw it from an altitude of 2.5 kms, from a place called Ghoom.”
For more about The Kanchenjunga, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangchenjunga/. And see yesterday's Kitchen for a couple of limericks by Mitali.
Thanks for the exhilarating poems and photos, Mitali, and don’t stay away so long next time!
_____________________
—Medusa
Mitali Chakravarty
A reminder that
Nancy Gonzalez St. Clair
will offer a workshop in Lodi
today, 11am; there will be a
jam and show in memory of
B.L. Kennedy today, 3pm,
in Sacramento; a fundraiser
for Sacramento Poetry Center
happens in Sacramento at 5pm;
and The MVPs of Poetry read
in Sacramento tonight, 8pm.
For info about these and other
future poetry happenings in
Northern California and otherwheres,
click on
UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS
(http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html)
in the links at the top of this page—
and keep an eye on this link and on
the daily Kitchen for happenings
that might pop up
—or get changed!—
during the week.
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.
Poets’ bios appear on their first MK visit.
To find previous posts, type the name
of the poet (or poem) into the little
beige box at the top left-hand side
of this column. See also
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom
of the blue column on the right
side of this column to find
any date you want.
Miss a post?
You can find our most recent ones by
scrolling down under this daily one.
Or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column.
(Please excuse typos in older posts!
Blogspot has been through a lot of
incarnations in 20 years!)
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
Guidelines are at the top of this page
at the Placating the Gorgon link;
send poetry and/or photos and artwork
to kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
work from all over the world—including
that which was previously published—
and collaborations are welcome.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!
Nancy Gonzalez St. Clair
will offer a workshop in Lodi
today, 11am; there will be a
jam and show in memory of
B.L. Kennedy today, 3pm,
in Sacramento; a fundraiser
for Sacramento Poetry Center
happens in Sacramento at 5pm;
and The MVPs of Poetry read
in Sacramento tonight, 8pm.
For info about these and other
future poetry happenings in
Northern California and otherwheres,
click on
UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS
(http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html)
in the links at the top of this page—
and keep an eye on this link and on
the daily Kitchen for happenings
that might pop up
—or get changed!—
during the week.
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.
Poets’ bios appear on their first MK visit.
To find previous posts, type the name
of the poet (or poem) into the little
beige box at the top left-hand side
of this column. See also
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom
of the blue column on the right
side of this column to find
any date you want.
Miss a post?
You can find our most recent ones by
scrolling down under this daily one.
Or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column.
(Please excuse typos in older posts!
Blogspot has been through a lot of
incarnations in 20 years!)
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
Guidelines are at the top of this page
at the Placating the Gorgon link;
send poetry and/or photos and artwork
to kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
work from all over the world—including
that which was previously published—
and collaborations are welcome.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!
