Poem

the woman in blue and red

smiles at all of us.

she makes us to stop

like a frozen stream in winter.

she talks to her earrings.

after

she will walk on the empty streets

with a map of a lost town

whistling a song of her past

while

looking at the darkness

lit by city lights.

she may run into those

sisters who liked her earrings.

Poem

the roof rattles even for a breeze

cracks all over

winter presents shorter days

but I can go back

when the war is over

to where the sun’s warmth

keeps our lives together

where we grew coconut trees

vegetables in the backyard

and herbs for good health

our hibiscus flowers are bright and fresh

 like a baby’s rosy palms

I’ll go home

when it’s all over.

how can you forget

the bloody past that

destroyed our innocence?

The trees on my street

stand still

exhibiting immense patience

they glow in green in the summer

autumn teaches them

the lesson of losing.

losing everything but themselves.

in the winter they are warmed

by the laughter of the kids

piercing the silence of the trees.

do you hear their whisper in the nights?

they share my intangible solitude

and they don’t wait for seasons.

Poem

years lay like pine needles

between us.

distances cannot be passed.

the fire of your love

start burning my soul

that was half burnt by that absence.

The dancer

movements in the void

weave stories to remember

stories of you

            of she

            of I

she becomes every woman

she dances the fire

burning inside her

from the day she was born.

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I wrote you when they were being killed.

the letter may not be received.

You do not know me.

but you desired any language.

you hide yourself in volumes – they said

they saw empty rooms

rusty benches

overgrown garden

and postman thrusting mails in the grey box

which always overflows.

rejection is hard and it exists

like our destinies.

they never found you

who lost the self

in that far away land

from where I wrote.

No title

Draupathi

She lets a yawn

to wake her soul.

it had been damp

all night. monsoon.

she shakes her long body

to rid of layers of old skin

still clinging.

she doesn’t sleep, she can’t

when the thought of those five men

demanding to conquer her night after night after night.

blood trickles from her womb

how can she identify the father of her child?

too many seeds (were sown).

she shakes herself from old dreams.

her hair hasn’t felt the warmth of the blood.

she comes out of the forest,

her body trembles in the morning breeze

there is one thing that she can’t divest

her forsaken love for Karnan.

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Mother decided a name

even before you were born.

astrological calculations predicted

that you’d be strong and rebellious.

mother had unusual spasms

before that night.

she couldn’t bear the weight

of her womb anymore.

he wanted to come out rather soon and

father was reading the story of Karnan

by the glistening hurricane lamp.

outside world was cold and wet,

the rains were heavy this time.

mosquitoes were buzzing nonstop

so they had the neem smoke swirling

mother was in bliss

for

this was going to be her unforgettable child

who wouldn't be hers and 

would teach her how to fight.

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Color