[PDF]Living Shadows Mani Rao 1997

Prote by Andy Sic


Mani was born and brought up in
India, lives in Hong Kong with a
dayjob in print communications
for aTV network and may or may
not be headed to New Zealand;
but this doesn't say anything
about her.


Living Shadows is her third book
of poetry after ‘Wingspan’ (1987)
and ‘Catapult Season’ (1992).
Other seen work includes poetry
postcards (1996), an installation
‘The Writing on the Wall' (1997)
and poetry in several magazines.


REGBVH Manikaehe Bw
RH ° @ Wingspan(1987) B
Catapult Season(1992) & :
Living Shadows # #1 # % = Mit
R- KRHKARERRRAE
(1996) » The Writing on the
Wall(1997) ' RERRERRA
89 1S Mo


© 1997 Mani Rao
All rights reserved
ISBN 962-8056-04-2


Translated by Hi
Huang Chan Lan #38


Designed by
Mani Rao


Artwork and advice by
Jan Adams


And again, for Sagar.
Some dedications never change.


indebted to Nick,
to Mum and Dad.


Thanks to the Hong Kong Arts
Development Council without
whom this project may have
languished even longer.


This project is supported by the
Hong Kong Arts Development
Council.


Se


HONG KONG ARTS
DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
SRS ARR


The judgement and opinions expressed and
the content included in this publication do not
carry technical endorsement or authentication
by. nor necessarily represent the views of, the
Hong Kong Arts Development Council.


This book is sold subject to the condition that
it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be
lerit, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated
without the author's prior written consent in
any form of binding or cover other than in
which it is published and without a similar
cendition including this condition being
imposed on the subsequent purchaser,


For details contact 194, Ko Nge Court
9 High Street, Bai Ying Pun, Hong Kong
Phone and Fax (862) 2529 8486.


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rubbersoled


dog invisible tags me
fugitive on empty street
sun keeps us in spidery web
my sequins caught in silk
his eight eyes unblinking
sombre harmonies of
sluggish sound

under high notes of
whistling wind


shadow of air


we ie FREER
mHARHSRe
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Be fb EK °


ERC AR AM
—hilei


HRN °


Ny shadow
comes home
at night
| Howls
at my grave
till | open
my coffin
and let him in.
” = sun
split open
A seed
And we walk


me
and my dog.


‘The waking soul ©
must not see itself


A chinese thing


So-no mirrors
in the bedroom


Daylight's too bright to see in -— drawn across the mirror in
folds, a heavy borderline guarded by a beast who looks
exactly like me, stronger; hands me back a picture

of myself, an alibi


The turning silver opens in the dark - on the other side, all
my lives - thriving wildlife at a saltlick neatly poured and
pouring in a bottomless glass a glistening leech sips and
Sips


Fragments of glass strewn beside a lake

Beauty and Beast keep returning, looking, asking

B: Is my appearance my reflection or is it a spell?

B: | am drawn to you as to a mirror, my beauty

B: Don't look at me like that, your face naked, your whole
life condensed, that expression

B: You look into my eyes, do you touch the bottom? Can
you look without feeling you've been seen as well?

B: How can we stop, two mirrors looking at each other?


_ A new home. The handymen stand around
looking into my unwrapped mirrors

| quickly open the windows

_ The cat has seen something

_ Has the mirror seen me?


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Living shadows
eating light
And I a hive

Vast tree

of nests and wings
shooting off


Tint of black, shade of white
grey 1 grey 2 grey 3
bodystockings denier

10 to denier 100

flickering pointers on a meter
measuring darkness


Ny shape holds
shadows like water
No-they're hung on me
like clothes like air

An endless showing of
disguises, no repeats


i have a visitor I never catch a face

My hand reaches out - he's gone she's gone
Water and smoke, a thief on the run

I know where they breed - on my branches
I'm after the plot I shadow my shadow I
slow down, dilate my eyes and shapes

_ step out of the darkness


' | write it down: Set the
smallest unit of time
and the shadow
depends on a few
materials: 1)Shape of
my body stencil 2)
Light intensity and
direction 3)Surfaces
the shadow falls on,
angle and texture 4)
Distance between the
light and I


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mARANE
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I'm a baby in the arms of my shadows
An extending line from murmuring tree
of parents


I slide I fly I walk
dividing into roots
contacting


Uh, ALL,
mot her’ : ‘sh


ae


‘grand swinging aa


"Ea on my


And these are the others
Tomorrows biting my heels, pacing
for their turn to step into my shoes


‘ada om


over


Orphaned I'll be without a shadow
Alone

- Vanished

I'll be my shadow


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Shadows are now more dense than befo
Or my eyes rest on them
Seek them out perhaps


My own shadow is a belt - bag - backpack
When I leave a room I pick it up
a gesture of politeness I never forget


Opposite walls mirrored
In the middle, you

A ghost army rises

One side

inside the other

A fanatic samelook

in their eye

A revolution


Ghosts have no ends

no measurements

They scale walls

Collapse

into a lamp

I hold on to my ruler, sanity
Ghosts in the newspaper
Ghosts in the curtains
Ghosts copying each other
Ghosts on telly

Switch on the light
Replace them with shadows
Ghosts in the shadows


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Forest Bone Thin
Clean Hair Corals
Blue Sky Flows In
Out This Ready
Skeleton Ravens
Wave Flags Black
Sign On Sign Knots
On Crosses Trees
Their Brittle Voices
Repeat Under My
Soles Shadows Slice
Each Other The Sun
Glass In My Eye


Lights attack you from all sides.
You split into multiple shadows
pale, weak versions
shadow adaptations.


Sun spends the day
drawing me

in shadow-wash
revising

erasing


CERNE
NS Rik Sas F
El: mSohe

aS tLase ©


ABREX
Oi ae Ti
{EET

nie


Disappeared into his shadow.

The man without a shadow.

The shadow had a person.

Don't let your shadow find another person.
Escorting our shadows we take them
where they want to go.

Folding his shadow on his arm he went.


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WMS FLAS HA -
HARMON MMA CMR CMR
HiERTFZSEM TET -


MII


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