Earth Melodies: Hum

Radha Chakravarty

put your ear to the ground

hear Earth hum –

music, microseismic—

ocean floor pulsing 

to the rhythm of waves— 

vibrations in sync

with the planet’s troubled core

in ever-widening spheres

vibrations spread 

across transparent ether, to join 

the symphony of astral bodies, 

exquisite harmony circling 

the soundless percussion—

elusive heartbeat, throbbing

in the still dark centre 

at the core of our very being

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Bio: Radha Chakravarty is a widely published writer, critic and translator. Subliminal: Poems is her recent collection of poetry. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She contributed to Pandemic: A Worldwide Community Poem (Muse Pie Press, USA), nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2020.  She has published over 20 books, including translations of major Bengali writers, anthologies of South Asian writing, and critical studies of Tagore, Mahasweta Devi and contemporary women writers. She was Professor of Comparative Literature & Translation Studies at Ambedkar University Delhi.

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Setu, October 2024