Om

The inward eye, the bliss (and the woe) of solitude, enclosed within the cult of self, literally scratching at wounds, fictionally beating the old heirloom, the dinner gong. Session begineth; session endeth.

A figure sitteth (on the sofa), head bowed, fictionally covered by the matriarch's (Nan Miriam's) black lace mantilla, eyes closed, inhale...exhale...Buddhist breath, Buddhist count, and inner voice chant: empty mind om empty mind om.

But no, a jungle of noises (from outside) creeps in, and bright mental images flash – a parrot, a hummingbird – in and out of the canvas. Word thoughts, often unconnected, destroy its silent blankness once and for all. The parrots now talk politically: 'A democratic “free” country does not exile divisions nor unite them; they exist just the same.' GONG!

Written under the influence of Salman Rushdie, The Moor's Last Sigh just prior to the news breaking in the UK of Rushdie being stabbed, 12 August 2022.

Picture credit: Me and My Parrots, 1941, Frieda Kahlo (source: www.fridakahlo.org)