MAGIC OF THE MIRAGE

written by: Dilip Mohapatra

@dilipmo

You post your profile photo
in virtual space
that shows only part of your chin
and a bit of your torso
and I dip my brush of curiosity
into a pail of pellucid water
and try in vain
to construct the rest of the face
and decipher your pseudo name
to put a label on you
and track you to your den.

Then you take form
in my dream
changing colours
like a chameleon
sometimes wielding a sword
and sometimes thrusting
a shield to deflect and
blunt my arrows
and before the hopes could
even materialise
you blow them away.

I then wander in the wilderness
on the sands of time
roasted by the real sun
fuming overhead on the zenith
and the clocks wrung bone dry
hang on the denuded
branches of the autumn trees
casting crooked shadows
on the corrugated dunes
just as on Dali’s
surrealistic canvas.
As I amble ahead
and stumble
against the sand grains
seeming like boulders
I wonder if the tides
in my heart are as real
or just some virtual vibrations
under the spell
of the magic of the mirage.

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Dilip Mohapatra

MAY 2017 / JAN-FEB 2019 AUTHOR OF THE MONTH at Spillwords.com

Dilip Mohapatra (b.1950), a decorated Navy Veteran started writing poems since the seventies. His initial foray into the world of literature was through poetry workshops in college and inspirations from his teacher Jayanta Mahapatra, an acclaimed poet in contemporary English. His poems have appeared in many literary journals of repute and anthologies worldwide. Some of his poems are included in the World Poetry Yearbook, 2013 and 2014 Editions. He has six poetry collections to his credit published by Authorspress, the latest being Dewdrops of Dawns, which has received raving reviews in multiple literary journals globally.
Currently his latest, a Professional book titled Campus to Corporate which is a career navigation manual for the students aspiring for a successful corporate career and for newcomers to the industry to survive and succeed has become a best seller with more than 10000 copies sold.
He lives with his wife at Pune, India.