Author of the Month: Sukrita Paul Kumar

Sukrita Paul Kumar

Green Poemlets

peepal and neem

side by side

let their leaves

fall in the unison

of yellow, green and

brown

dead hopes and wishes

in many hues

fly away with the westward

winds

making space for

new leaves, new branches

*

nobody dies in this jungle

branches of trees bend 

with live spirits on their backs

of people who walked here

those walking as corpses

wait impatiently 

to climb the trees

*

at dawn today

in the jungle

kaurvas and pandavas

stood ready for battle

war cries rose from keekar bushes

 

the winds whistled 

beckoning the

golden chariot behind the clouds

to arrive with reason and light

and suspend the daily Mahabharat.

***

Out of Sync

his IQ is too low, said the educators

a head too big on shrunken shoulders

eyes brimming with sharp question marks

unused tongue in a sandy mouth

voiceless

ears sharp and perched

for the impending storm 

in the ant’s whisper

bit by bit, moment to moment

schooled in actual living

every instance a threat to life

or a momentous celebration

of survival

memory is inadequate

for any deed done before

habit is a deadener, they say

living little truths with

no hunger for larger ones

no knowledge of the false

swinging in slow motion

and then with strength 

and conviction

faster, and faster

in sync with the rhythm

of outer space and

the flow of blood 

in his veins

the one with a large head

with a heart as big as the sun

is in the body of a dwarf

on a speeding swing 

and on tenterhooks.

***

---

Setu, January 2025