Minal Sarosh: Poetry (Voices Within 2021)

Minal Sarosh is an awarded Indian English poet, haiku poet and novelist. She has published two novels, Soil for My Roots (2015) and Wicked Money (2020). And her two poetry collections are Mitosis & Other Poems (1992) and A Lizard’s Tail and Other Poems (2020).She won the commendation prize in the All India Poetry Competition 2005, of The Poetry Society (India) Delhi, among other awards. Her poems have been widely published in prestigious journals and anthologies including These My Words – The Penguin Book of Indian Poetry (2012) among others. She lives in Ahmedabad, India 

Mirror 

Every reflection has my name

I am the moon reflecting the sun,

every reflection walks with me

I am my own walking shadow,

every reflection looks like me

I am the city shimmering on wet roads,

every reflection talks with me

I am the voice echoing in the valley,

every reflection flies with me

I am the bird’s shadow flying

 on the glass walls, facades,

every reflection has my eyes 

I am the blue ocean looking

 like the vast sapphire sky,

every reflections lives with me

I am the life in every breath,

every reflection dies with me

I am the death of every flesh,

yet, every reflection sees 

what I don’t see and cannot hide

 I am the mirror of my own self, within. 

***

Promenade 

Strolling along the promenade 

one evening, my thoughts whirled,

when the river doesn’t flow back

but finds new waters, oceans,

when the clouds don’t sail back

but move ahead to new skies,

when fallen leaves keep falling

but never grow on the trees again, 

when my skin will crease, wrinkle 

and not be smooth, flawless again,

when a moment gone, is gone

and will not come back again,

as when a river will not surge back,

why should we keep looking 

over our shoulder at a yesterday,

as when living in a new today we can

be the river, the clouds, the leaves,

and find new soil, new waters and new skies.

But, can we really let go?

I pick up a withered autumn leaf.

***

Between the Lines

Living between 

the sky and the earth, 

I count the stars

in your eyes.

Breathing between 

each breath I breathe,

I count the moments

together we live.

Hearing between

each word I speak,

I count the sound

of our heartbeats.

Reading between 

each line I write,

I count my thoughts 

echoing in your mind.

***

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Life, Cognition and Creativity 2021 :: Setu, January 2021