REFLECTIVE: "COGNIZANCE" BY SOMDATTA MITRA

I realised in my ultimate introspection ,

That peace is the most definite path to burning steady ; 

Like a lamp that outlasts the wind.

In the myriad phases of life ,

Peace asks for no sacrifice .

Rather a devotion to listening ---

To the heartbeats that pump the silence .

  Between what I chase and what I am.

Until the two stop arguing ,

The life that is invisible to my eyes begins to show itself.

And I call that breathing my own space ,

Tilting into a divine calmness that I want to hold on. 

There is peace in my own cognizance ,

Like a flame resting in its own light.

In commotion where several questions roll around ,

The mind seems to be a  river .

After stone circles chasing circles,

Until the water remembers it can still carry the moon.

Peace isn't absence of questions ,

It's the mind remembering how to be both the ripple and the reflection.

Enduring all disturbances in a strength to burn ,

Carrying the elements of how I see my own self.

Here I sense a deliberate pause where I finally meet ,

With the voice that delivers nothing I chase .

Only what I am ,

And what I want to live with.

©️ SOMDATTA MITRA 

-India

This poem, "COGNIZANCE" by Somdatta Mitra, is a serene exploration of inner peace and self-discovery. The speaker reflects on the nature of peace, describing it as a steady flame that endures despite life's turmoil, and finding it through introspection and listening to one's inner self. The poem's imagery, like "heartbeats that pump the silence" and "river carrying the moon", conveys a sense of calm and connection to one's inner world. The speaker's journey is one of self-awareness, embracing the present, and finding strength in stillness, ultimately meeting their true self in a "deliberate pause."