GOPA BHATTACHARJEE, INDIA (Peace Poem)

Gopa Bhattacharjee

Flight of solitude

I took a flight, I don't know why

over the hills and valleys.

To be with you in solitude

I am so exhausted and weary.

Hummingbirds sang songs for me

the hawk was vigilant too.

I knew I lost my peace of mind

I felt so gloomy and blue.

So I took the flight, I don't know why

over the seas and oceans.

Wind cleared the sky, clouds stood by

Seagulls flew.

"There is no such thing as far away "

This truth I already know.

You are my peace engraved within me

yet I feel so low.

So I took the flight, I don't know why

above the humans below. 

Kolkata

Ceaseless rains fall on your heart

like a rhythm creates a lullaby

my city, my whore, my beloved

serenity found in your abundance.

Chimes of the day, redolence of night

from tea stalls to coffee shops

pride of the Ganges, lovers Shangri-La.

Every minute seems to challenge,

existence of human rights.

How many poems did I compose?

How many letters did I write?

How many moments have I tried saying goodbye?

Every desolate minute I turned around,

you embraced me with open breasts

My city, my whore, my beloved

In you, only you, I found solace. 

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Gopa Bhattacharjee is a bilingual poet and an entrepreneur,  a totally romantic poet who still loves the first shower of monsoons, eighty’s Hindi songs and maacher jhol bhaat (fish curry) cooked by her mother.

Her two poetry books “Unturned Verses” and “Thirty Birds” were inaugurated in Kolkata International Book Fair 2020 and 2022. She has been the featured poet in the much acclaimed Poetry film ‘Kolkata Cocktail’. National and International journals have published her verses. She has attended several poetry events all around the globe.

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Setu, September 2023 :: Towards Visibility