By Dom Moraes The architecture of an auntMade the child dream of cupolas,Domes, other smoothly rounded shapes.Geometries troubled his sleep. The architecture of young womenMildly obsessed the young man:Its globosity, firmness, texture,Lace cobwebs for adornment and support. Miles from his aunt, the old childWatched domes and cupolas defacedIn a hundred Read more…
By Jayanta Mahapatra Dust seems in no hurry now, sailingthe air. A ten-year-old girlruns after her home-bound cowsthrough the ingenious sunset hour,glancing briefly as we pass bybut gives no sign that she has seen us. The day’s last lightsurprises us, leaving everyonesuddenly on an endless, desolate shore.And a small desire Read more…
By Jayanta Mahapatra The yellowed diary’s notes whisper in vernacular.They sound the forgotten posture,the cramped cry that forces me to hear that voice.Now I stumble back in your black-paged wake. No uneasy stir of clouddarkened the white skies of your day; the silenceof dust grazed in the long afterniin sun, Read more…
by Jayanta Mahapatra In the darkened rooma womancannot find her reflection in the mirror waiting as usualat the edge of sleep In her hands she holdsthe oil lampwhose drunken yellow flamesknow where her lonely body hides © Jayanta MahapatraFrom: Collected PoemsPublisher: Paperwall Media & Publishing Pvt.Ltd. (2018)
By Jayanta Mahapatra A grey haze over the ricefields.The black cow grazing with her new-born calf,long-legged, unsteady—or trucks going past the high road:such things only claimthat I am looking out in search of memory,not death. Those little kisses on our cheeksmy long-dead grandmother gave me, orthe soft dampness of my Read more…
By Dr. Gieve Patel It takes much time to kill a tree, Not a simple jab of the knife Will do it. It has grownSlowly consuming the earth,Rising out of it, feedingUpon its crust, absorbingYears of sunlight, air, water,And out of its leperous hideSprouting leaves. So hack and chopBut this Read more…
By Dr.Gieve Patel There may be a very small comfortIn knowing yourself finallyUseless – when even grandchildrenHave grown beyond your love,And your would-be widowHas outhobbled you andWont be around to break withOne or two of her last thick tears,And not caring much forYour fellowmen, the doctorsWont get your body –To Read more…
By Dr. Gieve Patel Text Book A case in point, the expert says;A woman thrust glowing faggotsWhere properlyHer son’s sparrow should nest.Puerile in-law practice, he says,But good as any otherTo set the story rolling; beginWith a burn in the sparrow’s nestTo extend over all therefrom emergingFan and flourish of the Read more…
By Gieve Patel Our English host was graciousWe were soon at ease;Or almost:The servantswere watching. © 1966, Gieve PatelFrom: PoemsPublisher: Nissim Ezekiel, Mumbai, 1966
By Nissim Ezekiel Some people are not having manners,this I am always observing,For example other day I findI am needing soapFor ordinary washing myself purposes.So I’m going to one small shopnearby in my lane and I’m askingfor well-known brand soap. That shopman he’s giving me soapbut I’m finding it defective Read more…