THOUGHTS

Thoughts flock to my mind in a great rush,
Like from distant places come migrating birds,
They jostle among themselves while to perch upon
They seek some meaningful and appropriate words.

Their clamour causes ripples in my stagnant blood,
My whole being is agitated, my fingers restive grow,
My heart is tossed about as if in a flood,
And a restless verse struggles to freely flow.

It quivers like lava, no more subdued,
It singes and nudges my hand to move faster,
It pours out itself, free at last and chainless,
Through a docile pen on a hungry paper.

And when it crystalises itself, my empty heart
Wonders whether it was ever its part.
                                   -Portia Burton