The Tao to You
Early morning, the Tao on a leaf
outside your tongue,
daylight flies cold heart-razors
to vowels on sand, speck, stone—
rivulets and dew can hold
a fortune of trauma.
These days we forage
indoors, for the pulse of blood,
some special peace
that does not depend
on the shape of another’s mouth
--the baby guzzles milk, feels ease--
we gallivant in bedrooms, the living room,
scouring for the still point,
the way to live is the way to live
we slip through the eye of a giggle
and bask in the Tao.
I will always sing the words of
the Tao to you
while the wind splits insects outside,
I will meet you
without metaphor,
peace is in the word
and the Tao is the word,
the hum of your babble,
the word the thing,
the thing no thing,
baby, this morning’s childhood
will take you through
the generations, your daydream
at 40, when you feel a leaf
tickle the insides of your chest,
and the little bird
on the sill begins to tell you
of the time you heard your mother’s
words on the air floating at one
with sky, earth, heartbeat, self.
Shivani Sivagurunathan is a Malaysian author. Her first novel, Yalpanam, was published by Penguin Southeast Asia in September 2021.
Her poetry collection, Being Born (Maya Press) and her book of fiction, What Has Happened to Harry Pillai?: Two Novellas (Clarity Publishing) came out in 2022.
Amethyst Review 