You may think I’m morbid but every time I watch the flames of the pyre it feels as though the fire reclaims it’s own. In the end we are all ash, returning to the earth From whence we were born. In my mind I see you, standing by another pyre Quite unlike this. I see…
Category: poetry
The News, 02.01.2023
Four people have been killed, nine injured in a terror strike. Russia continues to bombard Ukraine while members of the Opposition make arrangements for people to rest while walking for unity across the length of the country (the breadth seems to have been excluded)! A young girl died after being dragged for 12 kilometres. And…
For Ziggy
Not the swimming pool. Not the drives or that Maruti van of vintage spirit that you climbed into. Not the Bay of Bengal. Not its indifferent waves. Not the terrace of how it bemoaned the loss of those who left the years, the dates, unimportant. The hopscotch drawn in chalk waiting in vain for tiny…
Full moon again
You sit by the pond in the night and watch your father Crossing the dark grass, blinking through the trees Toward you, the moon balanced in his hands As he ruffles through the night only for you How long have I been waiting, you ask aloud May be forever, answers the night. It must be…
The dead.
The sun sets early in this place And does not return for days From across the horizon Comes the wistful murmurs In voices of loved ones, long dead. There are no human footprints To dispel the stillness with noise No questions that need be answered No cell phone rings to annoy. The living, at last,…
Someone, somewhere.
Someone somewhere is happy today But I scuttled the boat I was in Someone is pleased with her purchases, The path his career is going. Some couples smile and rejoice tonight I thought I would reach the other side Families are laughing over stories Narrated at the table where they abide Some children will not…
Ninety
Someone was talking about older relatives, Nonagenarians. I smiled, it’s your ninetieth birthday Today. The earth still smells as sweet and cradles Those plants you loved so well. When it rains The pond overflows as we splash among the edges Any excuse to jump right in. I still get lost. Meaninglessly in time playing games when …
Eight.
In my mind I am an octopus, the colours of my body Changing as I sleep; the yellows of contentment, The greys of the bleak worries, dyed in bleach. The deep blue shades of peaceful slumber, The frowning blacks as I refrain from speech. I do not speak to the dead bodies anymore I do…
Birdsong
The koel does not know this is a High Court meant only for serious matters, the Benches are for arguments, law and procedure heinous crimes discussed in hushed monotones one does not smile here. The koel sings out, indifferent and clear from its perch up high, no one stops or cares to listen; a voice…
Walk with me…
I have carried you for thirty years in every step, every mis-step I have taken, in delicious, imprudent ways. You were there when my daughters were born, you hid in a corner to hide your tears when I left home that last time. You knew, didn’t you? You knew that my life would move so…
Unawares
the kitten playfully tumbles unaware that crunching tyres will mow it down. the girl climbs the loft unaware that a misstep and fall will render her dead. the man at lunch laughs unaware that that chilled beer will be his last. the widow crosses the street unaware that in seconds, her child will be orphaned. …
blending in
I never smiled much blending into furniture, invisible girl hovering, in a party neither the life nor the soul; My words often fail to translate across the cacophony, specially for people that are meant to matter the people I think I care for. When trying to explain my thoughts, I’m greeted with blank stares nothingness cursing…
ipsita banerjee 