avatarAamna I. Rizvi

Summary

The website content is an introspective prose poetry piece reflecting on the multifaceted nature of the self and the journey towards self-actualization.

Abstract

The prose poetry delves into the complexities of the self, portraying it as a tapestry woven from various aspects of life, including lightness, barbarism, opportunity, peril, spirituality, and fear. It speaks to the balance between madness and philosophy, the resignation in seeking a higher power, and the investment in personal growth. The text explores the idea of chasing lost childhood elements, the influence of borrowed light from others, and the essence of a self that is free and bound only to those who appreciate its song. It culminates in the concept of a self grounded in the domestic sphere, yet paradoxically oblivious to the sacrifices made in the cycle of life.

Opinions

  • The self is depicted as a dynamic entity, constantly evolving through experiences and introspection.
  • There is an underlying theme of spiritual quest, with the self seeking deeper meaning and connection with a higher power.
  • The text suggests that the journey to the ultimate self involves embracing contradictions and reconciling diverse aspects of one's personality.
  • The author reflects on the adult tendency to chase elusive memories from childhood, indicating a sense of nostalgia and incompleteness.
  • The piece conveys a reverence for the power of mental exploration and the importance of nurturing one's inner life.
  • It touches on the fear of vulnerability and the potential for tyrannical possession in relationships, advocating for a self that remains free and unclaimed.
  • The ultimate self is portrayed as one that is both sacrificial and inevitable, deeply rooted in the family unit and the creation of life.

PROSE POETRY | SELF-LOVE | ULTIMATE SELF

Ode to all the Selves that Bring Us Closer to the Ultimate Self

Courtesy of Jamshed Kavina (@the.parsi)

[ I ]

A self made with all the lightness of a dawn suspended in the skies.

A self of barbarous poise.

All opportunity and peril that helps deepen life. A self to share through the lost art of mental exploration.

The balance between a mad man and a philosopher.

Photo by Kashaf Asim/@korakaghaz

[ II ]

A panoramic view of miles of life: forwards and backwards. A self of resignation, surrender and spirituality.

Unguessed by the queerest of intellects; held like warped time and space quantum in prayer between quivering hands.

A self fearful of running into Him through catastrophe. Seeking Him halfheartedly wondering if He is seeking me.

As adults, we perpetually run in circles; chasing ghosts of things we lost as children. Even, if we can no longer remember what they once looked like.

An underlying theme for all other selves: the seed and the fruits that grow on the foliage of our conscience and subconscious mind.

Photo by Kashaf Asim/@korakaghaz

[ III ]

A self that invests heavily.

The core-drive self in need of a start-up repair running on safe mode since 2010. Number-crunching, calculating, contingency reimbursement lawyer for the smallest of gambles in life.

The restricted area 51 of all selves. The joker. exhausted, indecipherable, only “kind-of-illegal”, intimidating, intentionally colloquial.

Photo by Kashaf Asim/@korakaghaz

[ IV ]

A self made of borrowed light. Of perpetually orbiting distant moons emitting some kind of light into your life.

A whole celestial body to call by the name of someone you owe a lifetime more of togetherness.

A self you recognize through other eyes appreciative of what you once appreciated in someone else.

Photo by Kashaf Asim

[ V ]

A self made of only song. Of strange and quickening desire that speaks only in dreams. Impassioned imprisoned desirous delirium.

The only self so free it beckons all your senses to the aerobics it can perform. A self that exists in bottomless falls and that disappears an inch off the ground. A self that doesn’t recognize impact.

A self that is bound for life to whoever can summon it at will and doesn’t scare easily. A self of dulcet ideology only heard in foreign lands or by fleeting lovers.

Never else spoken into being out of fear of abandonment or worse, attempts of tyrannical possession.

Photo by Ilya Pavlov on Unsplash

[ VI ]

A self grounded in home and hearth and absurd bursts of happiness.

Sacrificial. Predictable. Probably etched into the fiber of our being. Inevitable.

Irrelevant but vivid as a memory of a warm picture from a children’s storybook you once read on a cold rainy day.

A french nursery rhyme. A paradoxical self: oblivious of debt taken from life to create life.

A clotting of sounds, eyes the color of warm oatmeal and a crochet pattern on polished glass. A promise of more: running into qualities to form the heart of your children from.

What is vested like indestructible faith in four chambered muscle but broken just as easily?

A mirage to approach stealthily.

Poetry
Poetry On Medium
Self Love
Growth
God
Recommended from ReadMedium