Vindhya Shadows
A yellow bird drops by, blows whistle and vanishes
in the blue, in a moment of happiness.
The twilight wants connections, syntax and long list
of anything or anyone in the bamboo groves,
and in the lineage of the deciduous forest.
The heavy breath of the teak trees splits like
layers in the sunset clouds.
How can this possibly be the end?
first one, then the other shadows
get bigger on the walls of the Vindhya ranges.
This is how memories fade away
I fear their shapes, their smells,
There is a soft light at the corner,
I am looking for drowsy metaphors to unwind
the wound, to float in the dreams of my ancestors.
*Vindhya Mountain ranges is in west-central India
Trine
a.
my boat anchors on your door,
seeds planted in Pleistocene germinate
now in the early hours of morning,
I sink in my dream in a black porcelain cup,
they say, it’s my waking hours.
b.
a lonely bulbul
clings on the lightning arrester
to answer the sky,
up there she is my clock
that set my heart into slow motion.
c.
I prepare for a long night
before something ends or starts,
it is the season of mist
the moon grows around your smile
not leaving yet.
Resonance
July afternoon
The rain will
never stop
falling
Drip drop
ahead of you
as you step
as you walk
Green boulevard
crawling caterpillars
centre of a yellow rosebud
unrolling eyes
Raindrops on
your face
your lips
your palms
Resonance
Desire
Eunoia
Words
Search
for meaning
Gopal Lahiri
Gopal Lahiri is a bilingual poet, critic, editor, writer and translator with 31 books published, including eight solo/jointly edited books. His poetry and prose are published across more than one hundred journals and anthologies globally. His poems are translated in 18 languages and published in 16 countries. He has been nominated for Pushcart Prize for poetry in 2021. Recent Credits: One Art Journal, Poetry Breakfast, Shot Glass Journal, Masticadoreusa, Verse-Virtual Journal, Setu Journal, Kitaab Journal, International Times, Himalayan Diary, Dissident Voice, The Piker Press, Confluence, Literary Revelations, The Wise Owl Journal and elsewhere.