Dear Alchemist

by

What do you do
When you wake up
One fine morning,
Discovering
What you thought
To be your darkness
Was your light all along?
When you find that
Your frigid heart
Has been guarding
Kindlings for you
And has been
Gracefully striking
Your hardened
Regret and misery
To ignite a fire of life?
At the crack
Of a brand-new dawn,
When tears of sorrow
Transmute into joy,
Anxiety into ecstasy,
Depression into expression…
What happens
When you realize
You were the alchemist
You were seeking all along?
When you wake up
To the warmest embrace
And discover that it is your own?
What do you do then?
You finally cease to survive
And begin living instead!

Image credit: Feature image generated with DALL·E using a prompt based on this poem and its themes.
If this piece resonates with you and you’re a visual artist, I’d love to feature your own soul-crafted work in place of the AI image.

From the poetry compilation

Happy Hallucinations

More Poems

Do you remember?

Do you remember?

Do you remember?That lazy summer’s day?When a few sleepy raindropsCradled by the sky,Rolled over and fell downFrom their soft beds?You do remember, don’t you?How they landed on your cheek?How gently you woke them up,With that sweet smile of yours?How the spark in your...

Manifest!

Manifest!

Thought Emerge! Without fear! Without shame Or care! Just be! Be free! Ascend! From the sea Primordial And free. Rise drenched And wet, With meaning And intent… And rise! And climb! And soar Blindly! Are you mine? No, you’re not! I’m the womb To grow in To be...

Letter to her

Letter to her

To the woman I’ve not met yet —First of all: hello!Although I cannot see your face,You’re just a shadow,A barely visible silhouette,An unlockable video game character.I cannot see your smile,The colour of your eyes,Or how your hair radiatesUnder the summer sun.I have...

Graveyard of Old Memories

Graveyard of Old Memories

I keep digging deepIn the graveyardOf old memories.No tombstone, no nameNo dates necessary.Daturas and nightshadesHovering over your remains –Marking where you lay,On your final resting place. My shovel hits the coffin –Wood once varnished with my tears,Now rotting...

She Never Learned

She Never Learned

She was so concerned about being A good girl to her parents, A good mother to her children, A good wife to a husband, A good cog in the machine, That she never learned To just be... Be herself, Know herself, Not as a woman, Or as a person even, But as a universe Of...

Shieldmaiden

Shieldmaiden

Don’t be my Juliet, Nor my Leila, Or a Rapunzel trapped Far away atop A phallic tower Anxious to be rescued. Don’t lie half dead In a maze of roses, Or under a glass coffin. Don’t bother showing up In a pretentious ball, Wearing uncomfortable glass slippers, Only to...

Keep in Touch

YouTube

Become a Subscriber

LinkedIn

For professional purposes

TikTok

Follow me!

It’s a Rik Life

Rik Bhattacharja © 2023

All Rights Reserved