Special Edition: Gopal Lahiri

Gopal Lahiri

Solitude

I look at trees instead of woods and maze

of groves in the forest,

I’m asking butterflies the new way to

know the see-through pebbles

of a timeworn and speaking lake.

I read a hundred narratives where you see

what I am seeing in my solitude.

How the expanses light up, how the boats

are the most beautiful shapes

you have ever seen.

How the daises at your palms

begin cleansing a fragrance,

so different from and winsome

than any of you ever stand upon

under the luminous sky.

***

In the Wild

Here I fix my eyes on raindrops embroidering

the narrow forest path; in my pocket a few bird

songs are sealed in an envelope.

How blue is the sky, how blue is the bird,

Each leaf the same green and the ants hurrying,

when there is no wind, I stare down them.

And when the wind stars blowing, not thinking

of me, just passes by ignoring my presence,

touching the ants, the grass, the fallen leaves,

I close my eyes before the wild flowers hustle

down under the large Banyan tree

I remember the old saying- the singular , the eternal.

How tiny, how miniscule everything is now,

even me, my eyes, even my imagination.

***

Saputara*

Standing near the Purna river I think about

dreamy eyes of four horned antelope, forgetting

forlorn skies, forests, countries, cries,

the twilight catches all song lyrics and blow them.

I touch the sandy soil of the riverbed, wash my

both hands in calm water, the leafbirds and

bee-eaters gossip and giggle under shade trees

at the foothill of the Westerns Ghat.

I still stare at the spot, searching twinkling shadows

of my father who come into my dream

The grass is wet with evening dew and

there is hardly any time to think about.

Before falling asleep, I think that maybe something

will come, the blue air, the few leaves from any

old tree; come closer and greet me with both hands

I can reach out to them in all day and night.

…

*Saputara is in Gujarat, located in the western part of India

***

Bio: Gopal Lahiri is a bilingual poet, critic, editor, and translator with 31 books published, including eight solo/jointly edited books. His works are published across more than 150 journals and anthologies globally His poems are translated in 18 languages and published in 17 countries. He has been nominated for Pushcart Prize for poetry in 2021. He has received Setu Excellence Award, Pittsburgh, US, in poetry in 2020. He has been conferred First Jayanta Mahapatra National Award on literature in 2024 for his significant contribution in Indian English Writing. First Prize Winner in Poetry Contest organised by 43rd World Congress of Poets in 2024. 

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Setu, May 2025