Anatomy of (a) Thought | Srinivas S

Swooping down like a bird of prey, it comes:
The mind is its meal, and when prodded
Or courted much, the mind it becomes.

Unrobed, and without a toe, it demands
Admittance into the theatre of blankness:
The stage, then, is never the same.

A sudden cloud, it merely hoodwinks
The constant Sun; but all the land
Becomes grey, and braces for a storm.

Carried by the uncertain whiff
Of a distant but delicious tune,
It may die to fight another day.

Blurring time and space within
A cranial Isle, it seeks the thinker
In marriage, until left all alone.

It brings a lonely mind company
And blesses hearts with solitude,
Flush in the heart of crowds.

Invisible as noiseless air; still
Tangible as a stubborn oak,
It leaves or stays as it fancies.

A slave of conflict, it is pitted
‘gainst others of its ilk; and seeks
Renewal by changing masters.

At its best when abandoned,
It reveals the lie of skies;
And, offers, at odd interludes
A glimpse of the Unknown.

A dream of a dream, within
Another dream, beyond it lay,
The Thought-less say,
The blank infinity of bliss.

Srinivas currently teaches English at the SSN College of Engineering in Chennai, where he was born and received his formative education. He is a theoretical linguist by training and is interested in the phonology of Dravidian languages, linguistic typologies and models of prosodic structure. When he is not teaching English or working on an academic paper, he watches cricket or takes long walks. The thoughts he has, the sights he sees and the sounds he hears during these walks often find their way into his scribbles.