Portrait of a Life

creative writing in its myriad forms

[libaravindran]

This is a new poem based upon lived experiences of being with repair and tenderness in relationship with others.

Repair is tender

[libaravindran]

Joshua Tree is a poem celebrating nature and the embodiment of that. This is a new piece written in Joshua Tree, California last month.

Joshua Tree

[libaravindran]

A poem written in Sequoia National Forest in California whilst on a mushroom experience.

Mushroom Mountain

[libaravindran]

A new poem called 'Entanglement' written last month in Bristol as part of a national Transition Together gathering.

Entanglement

[libaravindran]

Re-membering

Respect the elder, for wisdom stems from a tree,turning purple tips into evergreen flowers,love and land have their roots in interdependence,filling hearts with wholesome energies aligned,a Tamil partnership finds itself alive in connection,seeking reparative ways to heal separation and division,a cloud of birds rains down onto planes of consciousness,seeking the mystery as mycelial mystical…

Re-membering

[libaravindran]

We Relate

I see myself in you; why the questions, why not overstand the trouble? the sea that we swim in, the air that we breathe out, is the same as our genetic coding that stretches back ages; we find ourselves in liminal spaces and closed circles, finding redemptive pathways to healing our scars, from society’s set up, we break the mould, don’t live up to expectations, find new ways in the…

[libaravindran]

This is a poem written last year that has been published in a new edition of the Bad Apple Zine which is a radical interfaith magazine.

Melanated Nature publication

[libaravindran]

Men's Work

A poem written in October 2024 at a men's retreat in Somerset. The poem reflects on the experiences of men doing the deeper work of healing and serving the divine feminine.

Safe mandem, how we look to embody love, the number of ways we deflect from doing the deeper work, as cis-men in a heteropatriarchal misogynist system, built to exert dominance with power-over games; the sun’s cycles swim towards liberated futures, as men, we want safety for ourselves and others, with shark infested waters, we surface with fear, hide our insecurities and project anger in…

Men's Work

[libaravindran]

Dream Weavers

A new poem written in Dorset on the weekend of meteor showers, full moon and nearing winter solstice in December 2024. The poem captures the spirit of community, dreaming into liberated futures for us all.

As I woke up with sun on my face, I dream of liberation for all beings, Being free from all of the conditioning, That has bound us in internalised oppression, Nurturing abundance, joy and prosperity, In perpetuity, we rise like lions to meet the day, Smiling for our ancestors as we heal divisions, Seeing the whole to embody clarity in peace, Feeling love in our hearts to resource system…

Dream Weavers

[libaravindran]

Melenated Nature

A new poem written at during the autumn of 2024 in a nature space. Speaks to global majority experiences in the rural spaces of the global north; the inherent racism that takes place in spaces of whiteness.

We grew up strong in nature, rooted to indigenous ways, Using old ice cream tubs for placing curry in, being zero waste, When I spot one of us in a green, rural space, My back goes soft and my heart expands wide, To engulf the resting of my nervous system quietly, We face racism next to verandas of blue skies and open fields, The contradiction of biodiversity and racial injustice goes…

Melenated Nature

[libaravindran]

Firebrand Poets

Selection of images from the past year performing and hosting poetry in North London as part of Firebrand Poets.

Firebrand Poets

[libaravindran]

Come Together

A #poem written at the Green Gathering festival in the summer of 2024, whilst living in an intentional community on the land.

Community building as internal work can be hard, Shifting consciousness to land in clearer air, Within circles who write their way into eternity, The green human who cycles through the space of infinity, Breaking the cult of individuality by opening the seal, Letting go of expectations so we can swim in liberation, How the breakage of pain can heal the separation, Intergenerational trauma…

Come Together

[libaravindran]

Radical Dharma

Break my heart open, not apart, for less is more, except when I’m waiting for an applause, a muse that dazzles like spring sunlight passing, buttercups fill the fields that store memories, turning pain into beauty like Coleridge being romantic, dreams referring recollection of ancestors; fire, all consuming, smoulders to collapse inwards, feel the healing of water over geraniums, the…

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[libaravindran]

Firebrand Poets

Open Mic Night on Thursday 16th May 2024 from 7.30 pm at The Antwerp Arms, 168-170 Church Road, Tottenham, N17 8AS 🎤✨ Come join Firebrand Poets in an open mic evening to rejoice. Our theme for this month is ‘Common People: Fight the Power!’, with reference to International Workers’ Day. We are acting in solidarity with workers of the world: let’s unite to fight the powers to be! 👩🏿‍🏭✊🏾❤‍🔥 We…

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[libaravindran]

Changing the World

a new #poem written about changing the #world last week in #Bristol as part of a worldwide summit

The more beautiful world our hearts know is possible, Manifests energy to heal the wounds of oppression, Planting rose bushes and smelling the flowers, Can be a retreat from the world intent on destruction; Progressive apple pies swallow up egos whole, Signposting virtue when signalling a good person, When pretence is conceptualised to stand our ground, Change is dangerous if it’s too…

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[libaravindran]

Doing the Work

a new #poem critiquing EDI/DEI/JEDI focus within charities who ostensibly do work around creating justice in spaces but often lead to further harm

Racialised trauma, healing from the raw wounds, Of intra-oppression, shaming and sideways glances, Walking into an English village pub without being violated, For invalidation comes from turning our backs on white supremacy, Cultures precipitate wrongdoing to be slowly undone, By liberating our biases from cloaked states of mind; We stand far from prejudiced spaces not naming…

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[libaravindran]

Land Stewards

solidarity with peasant farmers to hold onto land, bought off by royalty and stolen by greed, we ache to find new ground in the midst of the old, sacred sanctuary protects the space untold; my mind sharpens like a bull finch snarling, goshawk moving between nests of delicate air, every movement expresses time to be called upon, in the twinkling summer, we shimmer like…

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