Meditations

Two poems by Shilpa Kamat

inside this switchback prayer this
calloused sense of sky   I

look down at the monochrome
of my failures in their shallow

flowerbed, fresh with dew
reach down to search

their delicate variations: magenta
with blue tips, yellow gray, periwinkle

feel their petals between
my thumb and forefinger

pluck a few to place
on my altar   in my hair

to hold in the sun
on the cup   of my palm

---

the demons were never
evil just regular


                                                                               people who prayed
                                                                                  and were granted


thunderbolts
ethers


                                                                                 before their hearts
                                                                                            were grown


​enough to keep
up

---

Shilpa Kamat is a writer, educator, and healing arts practitioner based in Oakland, CA. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College, where she was awarded the Marion Hood Boess Haworth Prize; has performed her poetry throughout the Bay Area and Atlanta; and was a finalist for Tu Books' New Visions Award for her prose. Shilpa's writing contains ecological and mythical elements that are grounded in deeply human struggles. Her work is informed by her intersectional identities as well as her experiences connecting with diverse communities and the natural world. You can learn more about Shilpa's projects at shilpakamat.com.