Samsara

[milo]

I am truly curious, what prompted you to write about Samsara and BTW, though you probably know, there is an alternate word for Ganges one can use which is "Ganga". Then of course when it passes into Bangladesh it is called "Padma" and at it mouth it is called "Meghna". Almost like passing from one life to the next. Still the same river, but as it moves in space and time it acquires a different name as though it too is being reincarnated. Just a thought.

dale

Yes, the usage of Ganges identifies the narrator as a westerner. Initially I was drawn to the odd dissonance of the Ganges/ranges off rhyme. As I researched the river, I was drawn to the practice of dumping bodies in the river to stop the cycle. As a westerner, I am drawn to the irony of a practice celebrating the source of life by killing it. That irony led to the revelation of a double irony. A Hinhdi might not see the destruction of the cycle of life the same but karmic ally they would be trapped. Voila - reason to write a poem. It seems a poem about balancing the cycle of life and death should be a villanelle.