Uncategorized – Page 2 – ipsita banerjee

Sole-fully.

I saw an ad for a shoe ‘One sole several straps’ One can change colours, One of life’s many hacks. I paused, amused by the line Your face shimmered before me Un-synchronized in time and space A glint, a smile only I could see. I reached out, “I am ready,” I said Take me away…

Red Boots

When I was small I had red boots How I adored them, I marked each shoe ‘L’ and ‘R’, lest I wore them wrong Lest someone saw and laughed, Lest I ceased to belong. I would dance on demand, I’d pirouette For a clap of hands, a compliment Till my father saw me in those…

Indifferent

I ventured into the world to share my indifference There was no love in my well laid plans No debilitating emotions to weigh me down. No nervous paraphernalia of fluttering hands. When I was born you whispered in my ear: and that was enough as I lay in the afternoon sun shivering on the cold…

If a song…

If a song could tell a story what a tale it would tell… Of sweaty nights and wild exploits spouting from a bottle made in Hell. Of the lush kisses when it found a voice Pouting lips that caressed it as it fell. Of lonely nights clutching at mottled sheets Faces streaming with tears that…

Fleeting…

I want to flail, falter and fail immune to your assault the whisper in my ear urging me to be strong. I wish to fumble: futile and feeble groping out of these walls chafing against your bones fighting the need to be strong. I need to flee, furtive and fallow hide within the…

It rains

It rain it rains it rains On my mind from the skies It rains. Crocheted into the day Slyly into the night It rains. Droplets of joy Drops of indignation It rains Nothing dries I wipe the tear soaked face Hug the dog his fur is damp Still, it rains.

Bombay

I never can call you “Mumbai”: In one corner you will always remain The Bombay of my youth, of dreams and wild forays Into Baghdadi and Leopold. Taj Mahal Hotel stands stately, Brabourne stadium echoes a flood We’ve come a long way lately, it’s been “so far so good.” Memories creak into my bones Bombay,…

I did not stop

I did not stop for the pup today lying injured upon the busy street They said a car ran over it but I could see it still breathed. I did not stop for the pup today I hid behind excuses of “work” the ‘important’ cases of ‘important’ people that were waiting to be heard. I…

Prayer #Notinmyname

I did not come here to rage, I came here to pray. But hold it right there: I don’t do prayer. I bow neither to Jesus nor Allah nor to any of three million Others. so what am I doing here, why are my hands folded why am I in anguish, why am I starting…

Seasons

You are the first leaf bud of spring I am the whistling thrush That sings at dawn. You are the first plunge pool of summer I am the glacier Melting in your arms. You are the first rain of monsoon I am the parched earth Singing your love song. You are the first shiver of…

I’m here

Quiet. My words are quiet. Breaking through the soft beeps Of the machines Telling me that life Carries on in other worlds In other worlds Where you walk The wind a balmy breath Upon the pond As it shimmers In a tarnished white glow The edges smoothed to whisper In my ear, “I’m here.”

Fear

I hide you from the world. I do not scream out even when you slide into my bed in the middle of the night wrapping your icy fingers around my breast. I deny you exist. Even when your blows fall upon my aching spine wringing salty tears that I hold down within these eyes…