Silence
As I listen to the word, 
Beginnings 
With my eyes closed
Beginning
Re-membering the memory 
Hidden in my skin 
In my muscles
And in my bones
And 
Perhaps within my kins 
I asked, how did it all begin? 

pause- breathe-silence

Like being in the hollow sphere
In my mother’s womb
Empty Yet full
Listening 
Slushing 
Moving with 
my mother’s voice
Dancing
Swooshing 
Splashing 
In utero

Did it really begin there?
In my mother’s womb
That felt like a brume 
Or
it began even before 
I entered my mother’s womb? 

Becoming 
and 
un becoming 
Starts with beginning 

Ends with beginning 

Unbecoming is then becoming
Becoming then is unbecoming

pause- breathe-silence

As I listened to the word,
Beginning, 
With my eyes open
Beginning 
Listening to the birds
chirping at the dawn
Welcoming 
the rays of the sun 
Noticing 
Caterpillar becoming a butterfly
Seasons and the earth 
Cremation and the birth 

pause- breathe-silence

All of them, beginning 
Beginning a new path
A new sphere 
A new journey 
Inward or outward
Beginning 

Where does it begin?
When will YOU begin? 

© 2021 Neera Malhotra All Rights Reserved

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Dr. Neera Malhotra is a long-time student of meditation, Indian classical dance, and reflective writing. She teaches trauma-sensitive meditation and women’s retreats. Within the academic setting, her scholarship focus on Sexualities, healing, and Interpersonal Neurobiology.