Nishant runs in circles
hands extended
trying to catch
pink petals
making a spinning descent
to the ground.
Above him, hundreds
of pink blossoms hang
awash in sunlight.
In this moment,
of flourishing,
of pinnacle beauty,
do they know
they will soon
release and scatter
with the wind?
The blossoms of this tree
are an unexpected gift
of spring.
When we moved
to this land last July
the blossoms were long gone.
This April
the time between
bud and blossom
was fleeting.
In days, bareness
transformed to full bloom.
I have stood bare
through seasons of my life
which stripped me
of my covering.
Emptied, I did not
expect flowering.
This tree
whom I call WONDER
teaches me
emptying is necessary
to BLOOM.
Nisha Purushotham
Nisha Purushotham is a queer desi writer, songwriter, facilitator, trainer, and coach of Tamil/Telugu Indian descent. She channels people’s songs and poems, which reconnect us to our ancestors and Mother Earth and inspire new ways of being. She contemplates the worlds within and around her through essayettes. She is also writing a memoir to re-member herself and her family, to honor her/their trauma and resilience, and nurture her/their healing and growth.
As an interdependent consultant, Nisha partners with mission-centered organizations and social change leaders who seek to heal from historic and systemic oppression, to seed and strengthen practices of love, equity, and community accountability, and to reimagine structures, systems, and culture in ways that nurture inner change and collective liberation.
