Ana Ram Callan
Ana Ram Callan |
|
|
| After a profound accident and near death experience, Ana Ram Callan's ground of being was shattered and, through the cracks, Ramana Maharshi flew into her heart. She is forever smitten. Apart from Ramana, her passions include poetry, silence, and swimming. Her latest book of poems is entitled The Boy Who Would Be Sage - a chronicle of Ramana's life. Originally from Ireland, she now lives in Mt. Shasta, California. |
Ramana's Advice on Jayanti Why not mourn, He said, |
Freedom
When Rama and the angels come for me,
I lie in the grass and loosen
this garment of flesh,
both burden and joy,
that has carried me.
And I am in love with each tender breath,
with each miraculous gift bequeathed
- the bird on the branch,
the broken girl -
it is a perfect tapestry.
The mirage of old stories
rises up in the air
- fireflies merging
into one beam of light.
And now I see that
I have loved one man,
one woman,
one creature,
and they are all me.
When my eyes flow into His,
it is a wedding kiss for eternity.
And as I melt into the stars,
the field is flooded with flowers
blossoming into that delicious, radiant heart.
Poetry In Fifth Grade
Tell the artist how
you would like
to be drawn, I say.
This is your chance
to write your self-portrait.
The tiny doll girl
with a porcelain face
is first to share.
She instructs the page,
"Don't leave out
my sad eyes."
They are the color of
clear sky, uncompromising.
When I ask, she says,
"I have suffered," pools
rising on her pupils.
Her cat has died.
And Ty, I've been told
is so terrified by vegetables
and fruit of all stripes,
he avoids the lunchroom.
Yet he reads his elegant
cursive lines,
"In my dream,
I touched fruit
for a long time
and then it caught fire."
Just like my heart.
After everyone's done,
Noah shuffles up to my side,
his body billowing
in layers of cream puff.
"Paint me thin," he writes.
"Put me in the desert.
No houses, no roads,
to show my loneliness."
His voice comes from
far off, pillowy-soft,
as I paint a halo around
him. God, give him a hug
that he can receive
through the clouds
of his leaking ark.
And I take off my beret
to the brave artists,
burrowing, one by one,
out of their secret caves.
Who am I?
Dip your heart
in the Golden Question
and the ocean of knowing
will yield its nectar.
What has always been you
will disrobe, will unveil
itself so you may marry
your beauty, your singular
truth, so you may become
that one Love that has waited
lifetimes, that has never,
ever abandoned you.
Fall into me, lay down the past,
let your mind be freed of its shackles
so you may shine as that light
- O Illumined One -
your very birthright
for eternity.
No One
When the mouth closes,
the heart flowers open.
When the eyelids lower,
the whole world explodes
inside like a fire
until it subsides.
When the feet and arms
lay down their chores,
love floods in
and opens the door
to the silence,
to your very own source,
snuffing out all feeling,
all sound,
all perception,
all thought
and what remains
can revel in its own
beauty, its glory.
Ana has published three volumes of poetry and a novel for young adults. Her latest book of poems, The Boy Who Would Be Sage, includes archival photographs of Ramana Maharshi provided by Ramana Ashram. Details can be found at Ana's website, anacallan.com.