after 'Funnel of solitude' by Suzanne Duchamp

I explain the solitude
of the word itself
with dictionary meanings.
then I show the funnel -
like a circular game of Go.

the orbits overlap
like venn diagrams
on which the stones
roam to the points -
black & white.

upstairs - I've only heard
furniture move like the
middle frequencies
of primal war cries.

they might as well be
wooden people & I'd
never know, they might
as well be playing a
circular game of Go.

when I heard that blocked tear-
ducts are common in infants
I was also told that they heal
during the first year of life.

with red in the white
of the eyes, I used to
catch hushed odysseys
from adult mouth to
adult mouth - a fleeting
boat of voice in the air.

when sorrow has walked
away a bit, whisper a little
not that it should listen
not that you should forget
but an acknowledgement
in that hushed paperwork.

leaning in for a closer look
flowing down the funnel
I realize its helical nature -
winding away from altars.

somewhere along the road
points are added to the score
of the player with white stones
as compensation for playing
                                        second.

~Ajay
14/1/2020