Poetry

Mahesh Balasubramanian

By

Purabi Bhattacharya

Let there be riot

let there be riot

some ear deafening drum beating, screeching ululation

color bombing, laughter parade

around all that bazaar raucous

let me shed some kilos of fatigue

waffling with crowd, unprobing.

This is the moment,

i stand still and watch time stealthily work through

the ritual; the hours

metamorphose

into a new widow.

Burying unease, between those heavy bosoms

while i watch you shed some inconsolable whys,

i hold firm the flambeau

step by step, set russet the memories of my being.

Majestic, brother Brahmaputra by my side

stands refilling his reservoir.

i return mother to your lap, no longer a child;

a fatherless woman.

7 tales from Desertcomb

I

Of late the feathered presences take no cable lines and swing, any more

sun baked predator perch languorously

skimpy lane, nude farmlands

charred hope and its black body remains.

II

Hilltops, desert shrub spread

on one of the banks of dry Sabarmati riverbed

greets a crematorium,

home to blue bulls and untamed asses, lovers and peddlers alike.

III

Blocks after blocks, standstill

where Snehlata the snake slithered

the builders with their axes, left her tail end on one,

the hood buried under the debris of thousand dreams.

IV

Faces unfamiliar, smile brace-tucked

neckpieces for leashes

in land where only money speaks, one can buy

ersatz grin.

V

Doors are kept ajar

at the call of surname, hands reach out for swords

blood for blood

caste cusp.

VI

Saffron flutter, marigold garland

bandana swagger

in this land of subscribers, either one worships

or pulls a rickshaw, faith fastened.

VII

The pigeons are summer beaters

huddled in a corner

grunting,

the pail of water, boils their first love.

Purabi Bhattacharya

Purabi D Bhattacharya is a writer from Shillong, India. Currently based in Gujarat, she teaches English literature. Her poems have appeared mostly in print journals, anthologies including Quest (Writers’ Forum, Ranchi, India), Bridge-in-making(Kolkata, India), p4poetry Anthology, Scaling Heights(Authorspress), apart from contributing to some internet poetry portals. She has also a collection of poems Call me published by Writers Workshop, India. Currently she is on the panel of book reviewers of Muse India.