It may be in the sky, in sand, in dream you’ll find your Self.
For some, the search may never end. Don’t give up! Trust yourself!
Whatever you do, don’t sell your soul in discovery.
There will be those who’ll claim you, as if you are some “whore” self.
Better in desperate moments to deny shallow urges
that might cheapen you in their eyes, like some discount store self.
Maybe you are only just starting out on this journey.
Find people who will invest in you, in your ground floor self.
Keep your vision clear, no matter how many layers peel
back from the onion, until you discover your core self.
I get it, we all want to be completely authentic,
to tell our ultimate truth, to avoid our folklore self.
I only fear that in the midst of that terrible battle
you let go of peaceful You, settle for some post-war self.
Where the warrior goes, I could never follow. I’m too old.
Maybe you were never meant for my meek dinosaur self.
In the end, what matters most to Nate? What else makes more sense
than to dig deep, no matter the cost? You must explore Self.
by Nate Jacob
—from Rattle #84, Summer 2024
Nate Jacob: “Toward the end of 2022, a ghazal appeared in Rattle titled ‘Ghazal for Dida,’ by Karan Kapoor. Until that moment, I had never read a ghazal, never listened to a ghazal read, had never even heard of the form at all, but in that moment, I discovered a new reaction to a poem: I was gobsmacked! I was startled at the depth of feeling the structure of the form created in me, the way the qaafiyaa and the radif combined to create a near trance-like invocation within the poem. Plus the personal way a ghazal traditionally ends, with the naming of the self, adds so much of an ‘I, the poet, am here’ touch to a poem. And so I set out to attempt one of my own. This is the first ghazal I ever attempted, and in the attempt, I found that magical connection that ‘Ghazal for Dida’ created in me.” (web)
