Singh - Doors 1
move
/mo͞ov/
to go in a specified direction change position
empty
by Kashiana Singh

are we not all in exile—
learning to exit doors

Many times, have we moved
waving—
goodbye to people at doorways
from the back of a car to friends, dogs
forlorn, following us as they tripped along
maybe just because days were so lazy then
people stood and waved at their front doors

we moved, were removed from doors
entered new doors, watched shut doors
we tiptoed around each other, as we packed
gathered our chaos, contexts
               that had
               settled and scattered around us

Stay with me—
as I move through doors
and into doors
of my childhood years

Years of saved amends left at the front door
in attics, almirahs—locked boxes
some zippered bags, tightly sealed
layered with desiccant packets

Years of mom opening the front door
sores hidden within brick and mortar
strewn into the chipped
mosaic of a front veranda

Years of repair being brought into the door
the freshly painted archway
being embossed into its walls
calligraphed under its roof

Years of puzzles in books hauled through the door
an alchemy of dust and smells
scattered in every new room
bookmarking each argument

Stay with me, as this is not
a poem about leaving a home
about departure from doors
this is just a song about
taking every home along

Stay with me
as I ask again
are we not all in exile—
learning to exit doors
looking endlessly
looking endlessly
for doors that open
for we have been told
that when one door closes
another opens, there is always
a door to keep us safe, however
wherever we may sleep for the night

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This poem takes the door theme and speaks about doors as representative of moving and accepting change as a constant. What one can do best is to adopt the role of a pilgrim and consider every home a temporary halt, every door a temporary entrance and thus the journey becomes easier. It even becomes more engaging because now “I” is a curious participant but not the controller of every door that is encountered through this journey.

Singh

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kashiana Singh is a management professional by job classification and a work practitioner by personal preference. Kashiana’s TEDx talk was dedicated to Work as Worship. Her poetry collection, Shelling Peanuts and Stringing Words, presents her voice as a participant and an observer. Her poems have been published on various platforms including Poets Reading the News, Visual Verse, Oddball Magazine, Café Dissensus, TurnPike Magazine, Dissident Voice, Feminine Collective, Spillwords, Poetry Super Highway. You can listen to her reciting her work on Rattle Open Mic sessions, Songs of Selah podcast, and Poetry Super Highway episodes. Visit her on Twitter and Facebook.