Six Poems by Abhay K.

* Author of the Month *

Abhay K.

Abhay K. (b.1980) is a poet and editor. He has published six collections of poems including The Seduction of Delhi and The Eight-Eyed Lord of Kathmandu and edited CAPITALS (Bloomsbury), 100 Great Indian Poems (Bloomsbury & The Onslaught Press, UK) & 100 More Great Indian Poems (The Onslaught Press, UK). He received the SAARC Literature Award 2013. His poems have been translated into a dozen languages and published in leading literary journals including Poetry Salzburg Review, Asia Literary Review among others. His Earth Anthem has been translated into 30 langauges.

San Marino

Go to San Marino, someone told me in Torino. A country

carved out of a mountain. The largest castle is still a prison.

They say San Marino has the oldest constitution and has more

vehicles than men.

Bandar Seri Begawan: The City of the God

The blessed city wrapped in a green blanket

on the banks of Sungai Brunei

welcomes first rays of the Sun

on its marble minarets and golden domes

across the lagoon children jump into the river

to swim to their schools, to welcome tourists

to Kampong Ayer—the Venice of the East

in Antonio Pigafetta’s legendary chronicles

the palace of light and faith shines radiant

as faces of the shoppers at the Gandong Central

long noses of the proboscis monkeys

brighten up Brunei mornings in Pulau Ranggu.

Sungai is a river.

Kampong Ayer is the village constructed on stilts over the Brunei river.

Antonio Pigafetta was a traveller who accompanied the explorer Magellan.

Gandong Central is the largest shopping complex in Bandar Seri Begawan.

Pulau Ranggu is an island, which is home to long nosed proboscis monkeys.

Paramaribo

Alonso, Juan, Amerigo — the voyagers rushed

to the Wild Coast in search of an Inca El Dorado

instead they discovered Parmurbo—

a village inhabited by  Indians

and when the tobacco and sugar plantations declined

a mighty city arose on the banks of the river Suriname

now, Wilhelmina— the displaced Dutch queen

looks at Goslar— a sunken ghost ship, from a rusty island.

Nouakchott

A reddish Martian flatland in the middle of the desert

haunted by winds, shifting sand dunes and droughts

a caravan stop from the sea port of Atlantic

strange, sleepy, unassuming, laid-back, idiosyncratic,

somewhat urban, somewhat nomadic

intricate streets, one-storeyed buildings

the grand mosque rises like the full moon over the city

scores of tourists treasure hunt for Saharan meteorites

fishermen arrive in brightly painted sea canoes

donkey carts ply on the road loaded with fish

passing through overflowing Kebbes, frantic markets

nomads relocate—a city migrates within a city.

Kebbes concrete shanty towns

Iguashu Falls, Brazil

Sky is filled with birds

a butterfly lands on my hands

water vapour rises high

instantly turning into clouds

I am silent

letting the moment seep into me

a quatis comes close with curious eyes

speaks to me in a strange voice

I walk on the trail dumbfounded

getting drenched wet

as Nature cries

for a dying Earth

I stand in silence

listening to Iguashu falls

watching a thousand rainbows

rise and fall

I walk into the devil's throat

I am in the lap of eternity

I try to see her face

it is blinding white.

Mbabane-Lobamba

To Hhohho

to Mbabane, to Lobamba

along the river Polinjane

and the mountains of Mdzimba

through cool high veld Ezulwini

to the Royal Kraal

bow to the queen mother Ntombi

dance Incwala and Umhlanga.

Kraal enclosure

Umhlanga Reed Dance

Setu, September 2017