the shards of a halted conversation
are sharp on the tongue,
when the word is finally said,
a little one, a longer one,
two words that are coloured
with anticipation.
i have always wondered at this strong
bond, between the unsaid and the unseen
and how easy it is to forget that
the pause doesn’t mean a full-stop,
not in poetry, not in life.
the conversation is a piece of imagined
reality, a cake without icing, a ballad without
the rhyme, and the eyes without reflection.
so, talk, as if your words are going to rest
on my body,
before slowly sinking in,
the bleeding night-sky as the backdrop,
for this performative exchange.
.
© Anmol Arora
Linking it up with the Poetry Pantry at PU
HA's Place 
Such words of truth.
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“Talk as if the words will rest on my body” – really powerful line, image and notion, I love it.
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Reblogged this on Art, Photography and Poetry.
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so, talk, as if your words are going to rest
on my body,
before slowly sinking in,
that is so beautiful, Anmol… this should be on hoardings everywhere…
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… ❤️ I can’t even begin to describe just how gorgeously heart-stirring this poem is, Anmol! The opening lines themselves are as though an arrow piercing into the soul. How easy it is for others to stare deeply into our eyes while delivering their dialogue .. unaware of the fact that we are more than able to see through the facade. There are millions of people out there in this world that only bring half of themselves to the table .. while we being the misfits are able to discern their words as “a ballad without the rhyme.”
I feel like asking these people .. do you take us for fools? Do you not realize the impact your shallowness has upon the world?
And then there are others who seem as though they are strolling through the dandelion fields of our minds .. they are those who understand us without us having to utter a single word. It truly is a motley world we live in. 🙂
Arz kia hai … ❤️
“Hain aur bhi duniya main sukhan-var bohat ache,
Kehte hain ke Ghalib ka hai andaaz-e-bayan aur.”
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Love the distinctive, well crafted confidence in your voice here, Anmol. It has telling weight too and I shall be back for more!
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One always wonders what would have been said if a halted conversation had continued. Indeed there is some kind of bond between the unsaid and unseen, I think. Always good to read your work.
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An interesting observation that a pause doesnt mean a full stop. I, too, love “as if your words are going to rest on my body before sinking in.” It would be good if we used our words with such care.
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“pause doesn’t mean a full-stop” — so true, but too often we let a pause be an end… maybe comfort in silence requires trust.
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‘Pause doesn’t mean full stop’ Gosh that was stellar! Well written , hope to read more from you!
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You articulate quite exactly the shards of broken conversation. Wow. One must wish for more after the caesura, after the pause. The entire poem speaks to me, especially this:
“i have always wondered at this strong
bond, between the unsaid and the unseen
and how easy it is to forget that
the pause doesn’t mean a full-stop” Oh, glory, yes! The line about the body engaged is so very sensual!
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Stillborn conversations can be, indeed, dangerous things. Unsaid things have been know to cut the insides of the non-talker and steal the energy from the one waiting to hear. So, I’m with this speaker–let us talk, live on, and be…
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I totally get the second stanza, Anmol, and love the idea that
‘conversation is… a cake without icing’. The final stanzas are particularly powerful.
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Reminds me of things I should have said or shouldn’t have said in the journey. Regrets, I have a few and I will always wonder where an extended conversation may have taken me in the journey.
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I feel as if I’m reading this as the echo to all the conversations I’ve had this weekend, the reminder that they might not have ended for all that they’ve paused. Evocative and gorgeous.
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When that pause goes on too long, we’re prone to write things in that blank space, and give it mass and weight that may or may not have anything to do with the intentions of the one speaking.
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I like the image of words resting on ones body—and I don’t mean tattoos! 😉
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one’s, not ones
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Thoughtful contemplations wonderfully rendered.
‘the pause doesn’t mean a full-stop,
not in poetry, not in life.’
wise words!!!
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Conversation as theatre, that’s interesting
Happy you dropped by my sumie Sunday this week Anmol
Much🌻love
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i looked at the artwork, and read your poem.
so true, a conversation can be liken to a performance. there is so much to ponder in your words.
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I like the idea of conversation being jagged, uneven and difficult, particularly in the silent pauses… love the sensual language used here, urging the conversation to continue to flow.
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“so, talk, as if your words are going to rest
on my body”
and write as if they will sear your heart. A great piece.
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