Sushma Malhotra

Sushma Malhotra

Sushma Malhotra immigrated to the United States in 1991 and lived in New York City until she moved to Township of Washington, New Jersey in July 2024. She has been writing and publishing in Hindi and English magazines and other collective anthologies. She writes in various genres such as poetry, short and long stories, educational articles and travel memoirs. She has published two anthologies in HIndi and one in English. She is the founder of the Association of Indian American Educators, Inc and Nirmal Roshan Sahitiyak Manch. She has presented her papers during International Conferences at college or university levels.

Identity

I am desolate and forsaken bench

Waiting for human company

I am available forever

To give solace and relaxation

To those willing to shed their tears

To express their pain

Outpour their screams

For the sky to hear

Come sit and share your secrets

Of love and admiration

Of remembrance and reminiscence

Of Plans and Dreams

Spread them on me

For others to pick from there

I resemble you as I am an epitome of

Solitude and isolation

I am a “Lone Seat in North Haven.”

***

Pronouncement

One big and one small tree

Giving company to each other

Bearing all kinds of weather

Falling of rain and shower

Snowfall and blizzards

Nature around them

Wondering at the thought of the unknown

For putting a bench near a road

Expecting a passerby to stop

Unexpectedly though momentarily

May be a hiker tired or stranded

Beneath the trees and brood

About the path to take next

Trusting the nature where both trees

Standing and supporting each other

The density of the leaves

Providing shade and fresh air

Uplifting the spirit in lonely landscape

Relaxing from the city sound

Escaped. away from the town

Learning from the wildlife

To strive in the rain or snow

Stay together and offer self

Who need rest and admire

Before you wither with weather

***

Candid Image

Nature is always infinite

Humans cannot measure it

It’s vastness remains unaccountable

It opens itself abruptly

Unexpectedly exhibits candid image

Sometimes abandoned

Represents cosmic recklessness

With boundless views

Offers city or town dwellers

To accelerate their journey

To figure out untold stories

Of paved or unpaved paths.

***

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Setu, September 2024