“Mira dances, how can her ankle bells not dance?/…I am at Hari’s feet; I give him body and soul./ A glimpse of him is water: How thirsty I am for that!” – Mirabai (as translated by Robert Bly)
Living is full of thirsts, our drawn days of summers, the body aching for company, soul-witness, democracy, justice. When I am thirsty, I sip on Mira, imagine her playing the ektara, diving into devotion, into lines that would become poetry, would become song, would become holy.
How do we make a moment holy? How do we live in the moment? How do we live on in the moment?
One way through is song. When I imagined my book launch for Miracle Marks, I dreamt of garba, dance & poetry – lyrics alive – an interaction, a twining traditions of poet-saint Mirabai, a threading of body & language, spirit & heart, lineage & now. I’m grateful to Aditi Dhruv and Kuldeep Singh, two exquisite dancers who brought my poems to life on June 29. Our work together was not echo but thrum, an ecstasy I like to conceive Mira would have enjoyed, would have delighted, would, too, have sung.
In more ways than one, the Miracle Marks book launch was collective song. As a social practice artist, interaction and engagement is vital to me. After pooling songs from friends & community, I created a Spotify playlist riffing on themes in Miracle Marks – goddesses, rivers, women, liberation. This playlist, River – Miracle Marks Book Launch, threaded the evening, weaving a community of voices through the launch. To everyone who added to the collective play, I am grateful.
These days, when I am thirsty, I go back to this playlist, to the river of time & feeling before, and drink anew from what may be possible, what art makes possible, what community makes possible, what songs of liberation make possible.
If you’d like to experience my work & share song, reach out for book readings, events, and workshops at purvipoets@gmail.com. Find Miracle Marks here and more on my work at http://purvipoets.net and @PurviPoets on social media.
New Hires at Northwestern University Press