The Beginning

I write this first post at risk of a possible violation- douchebaggery.

Greet the sun, spider. Show no rancor.
Give God your thanks, O toad, that you exist.
The crab has such thorns as the rose.
In the mollusk are reminiscences of women.
Know what you are, enigmas in forms.
Leave the responsibility to the norms,
Which they in turn leave to the Almighty’s care.
Chirp on, cricket, to the moonlight. Dance on, bear.

-The Nicaraguan poet, Ruben Dario


Despite several references to the existence of God- and my reputation as an atheist- I found it hard to dismiss this poem entirely (Within my head I must’ve replaced ‘God’ with ‘Darwin’). Coming on the back of a difficult year- of doubt, creeping cynicism and worry- the poem’s optimistic note struck me pleasantly. A note (which I promised myself in an inebriated state on new years) I aim to elevate to a symphony. The neon sign above the entrance to my blog- “Enigmas in Forms”- is, as you might have noticed, extracted from the poem. I’ve interpreted these three words as a form of self-therapy- life is enigmatic, we are enigmatic, and at times, there isn’t much use dwelling on it. Among the lessons of 2010 is to quickly snap out of sessions of unhealthy brooding and acknowledge the unpredictability of certain things.


Yet another significance of this poem is that I discovered it in a collection of short stories- Women in Their Beds- by Gina Berriault, and this is my homage.
Women in Their Beds is one of those five books of short fiction I intend to love and be possessive about well into the far-far-future (And I still don’t know the other four). Another reason to guard this book fiercely is not the said writer’s obscurity but her neglected state. She is most definitely unavailable in India, but even here in the United States, her presence is slowly diminishing. A reason, which Gina’s husband (Leonard Gardner) brought up at one of his readings I was fortunate enough to attend, was Gina’s inability to self-promote (which- whether you like it or not- is critical in the writing world). At times Gina is talked of as a writer’s writer but beauty is beauty and this book is just gorgeous. I recommended it to everyone.

Well, to a year of thunderstorm writing and sunshine thinking!