At a Loss for Words
Words caught in a diaphanous net,
Struggling to escape—
Some smouldering and vibrant hinting
At ecstasy, heartbreak and love
Others simple and serene
Speaking of warm hearths and household joys
While others are marble cool
Reflecting silence and contemplation and tranquility
The master creator strokes them gently,
Runs fingers through the net,
Savours the sensuous, almost erotic pleasure of selection;
Picks them up, turns them around, places them with precision
Catches their gleam in the light
And then carefully strings them
Into star-studded sentences,
Reveling at reflecting
Subtle nuances, exact shades of meaning,
The endless interplay of sound and sense—
Gems polished to perfection
Stretching the golden fabric of language
Mirroring myriad possibilities hidden in subterranean depths
But sometimes,
Face to face with the Divine
One soars above the glittering snares
Of images, metaphors and conceits,
Scorns the encircling boundaries of
Symbols, allegories and paradoxes
And glories in the wordless language of
Silence.