Three generations of Kumaoni women,
Nani, Amma and I,
Our tragedies and our triumphs.
From feudal grandmother
Deseeding melons and laying them in the sun to dry.
To modern mother
To our bindaas generation.
Education, marriage and career
Earlier was decided by the parents.
Now we make our choices.
I will make Chinese food for all of you.
Amma going as I kissed her on the cheek,
Baby’s breath.
Harsringar, tree of sadness
Followed by Mimosa, tree of happiness.
***
Wildcatters
Wildcatters hunt for oil
In Calgary, Alberta.
Hobos line the streets
on the far side of town.
Amoco, Mobil and Shell
Converge in Downtown.
Processing and Interpretation
And Research.
Exploration and Geophysics.
Oil boom and bust.
While students protest
To divest in South Africa
On behalf of the disempowered.
***
Life
in Corona
Not a bird in the trees
Not a soul in sight.
We walk covered with masks
And stoles
To the provision stores
And the gate.
Life in the time of Corona
Life in the time of the virus,
Death and disease
Domestic issues and joblessness.
Above the ordering of food and counting of bills
And stocking of provisions
There has to be something higher.
Still the human spirit
Rises above the mundane.
***
Bio: Rachna Joshi is a poet and reviewer who has lived in North America and India. She has written four collections of poems: Configurations (Rupa & Co., 1993); Crossing the Vaitarani (Writer’s Workshop, 2008); Travel Tapestry (Yatra Books, 2013); and Monsoon and Other Poems (Tethys, 2020). She works as Senior Assistant Editor at the India International Centre, New Delhi.
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