Insightful and Engaging Poems

Medusa and other poems
Author: Sangeeta Gupta
Prithvi Fine Art and Cultural Centre, New Delhi, INR-250/-

Reviewed by Gopal Lahiri, Poet and Critic

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Poetry often, becomes the quiet thread connecting love, grief, memory, and the beauty of life. It uses silence, image and metaphor as tools to reveal what’s truly going on beneath the words.

Gopal Lahiri

In this collection of poems titled ‘ Medusa and other poems’. Sangeeta Gupta offers insights through the words of mythical history and unearth the truth beneath the narratives. Like her earlier twin collections of delicate poems ‘Hymn to Trees’ and ‘Rise from Your Ashes’ the poet takes the readers here on a reflective journey that open eyes to a new untrodden world.

And likewise her verse in this book looks like free speech with sentences piling up one another. To look into the poems one by one, the readers may find something much like themselves striding out in the poetic landscape.

 As always, some of her poems in this collection have a mystic calmness, a cheerful simplicity. The words themselves seem decanted from a turbid surface and contrary currents.

 In between layers of silence

there are words

restless as ever

unable to escape

the silence so pure

untouchable, unbearable (In Between)

Sangeeta Gupta

Her strength is the austerity and the effortlessness of her writing is remarkable. Alongside, her words with an accessibility and elegance, easily transports readers onto the poetic domain. And all these reflect a moving testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

More often, the poet opens the minute apertures within guilt and redemption, love and grief, and discloses intriguing moments of life. In the way, she crafts the complexities of human relationships with details and gives her readers a perspective of her layered works.

In the following poem, the poet digs deep and crafts a richly atmospheric and emotionally layered lines that explore the journey of self-discovery. She dissects her own mind as if to uncover the nature of consciousness and the fate of her world.

Life was spent
trying to be perfect
now I’m trying to be just myself
Once I become myself
I will not try
I will be.  (Life was spent)

Her poems which are built of unadorned language and sharp imagery, stand loud and clear.

Standouts include the Silence is so perfect, Relationship, When you lose all, Your time is Sacred, We may, and Artist’s Dilemma.  

In the following poem, the poet dives into emotional resonance, clarity, connection and then stresses the importance of vividness. You’ll be thinking about the wonder of existence long after the last line.

Know that
you are nothing
when you give love
you become something
when you receive love
you become everything
you are nothing
you exist
you become
only in love. (Know That 2)

There is a saying that poems must written in emotional freedom. Furthermore, poems are not language but be the content of the language. And a poet should be truthful to oneself.

Sangeeta’s poem set an easy and readable pace and help us to enjoy the moments. The tone is without the tightly coiled force. The few lines here, when read, will feel as spontaneous, as true to the moment, as one’s own free speech. All attention is drawn to it.

some bonds are beyond

the realm of reason

come to me

when you cross these boundaries

I wait the eternal wait. (I deeply Care For)

Here the poet deconstructs the myths and describes Medusa as a saviour rather than a demon and salutes her. Her poetry reflects on inheritance, struggle, and what it means to grieve across time and distance.

you returned as a saviour

that was your sweet revenge

and unconditional love for Athena

Medusa, let me salute you. (Medusa 2)

Sangeeta’s gift of transfiguring the ordinary and pointing the wonders and warmth at the heart of daily life is exemplary. Her soul searching poems are hauntingly beautiful.

With astounding openness the poet asserts, ‘ let the insanity/brew within you/inspire you/to put out the unique/make friends with/ your insane passion. (Honour The Storm).

Drawing from psychology, philosophy, and personal inquiry, Sangeeta offers a thoughtful approach to connection in a world where so many feel invisible.

She anchors her reflections firmly on the universe, not merely on our planet and surprises the readers with rare discernments in the following poem. The following poem presents a tonal shift. By moving from the concrete to the abstract, the reader is aware of an important transition.

We touch each other’s soul
in thousand ways
we mirror each other’s passion
and yet remain who we are
you, the moon
I, the sea. (You The Moon)

Furthermore, with accurate observation, the poet guides its readers on engagement and awareness and her pensive and spirited words can stir in others as well.

Perhaps the “you” also heightens the poem’s sense of disembodiment, that all of these intense thoughts and feelings are happening to the speaker, but the speaker feels outside of his own body. The narrative certainly feels autobiographical, yet eerily familiar.

No is a complete sentence

Remember that

Find time and space

To explore your inner landscape. (Your Time Is Sacred)

The poet strikes a right note if the reader is able to understand the nuances of the poetry, In the following lines, she introduces a sense of hope, takes on a fleeting quality, as do all the glimmers of light in this piece. And finally the insight that life has meaning.

Share your harvest
with those around
trust that everything
you put into the cosmos
will come back
to you manifold
stay in the energy
of abundance.(Share Your Harvest).

Sangeeta Gupta is a poet and painter as well. The poet revels in capturing the lifeline at its zenith and exploring even the darkest moments in the course of life. ‘Medusa and other poems’ is a fascinating book, which, unfailingly burst with life and emotion.

The cover page design is evocative and the artwork is created by the poet herself. And surely, this book is a poetry lover’s delight.

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Gopal Lahiri was born and grew up in Kolkata, India. He is a bilingual poet, writer, editor, critic and translator and published in Bengali and English language. He has authored thirty books to his credits His poetry is also published across various anthologies as well as in eminent journals of India and abroad. His book reviews have been published in Indian Literature of Sahitya Akademi, (Print journal), Muse India, Scroll.in, Different Truths, International Times (UK), Kitaab (Singapore), Setu (US) online journals and many others. He has been nominated for Pushcart Prize for poetry in 2021. He is the recipient of the Poet of the Year Award in Destiny Poets, UK, 2016, Setu Excellence Award, 2020, Pittsburgh, US and first Jayanta Mahapatra National Award on literature in 2024.

Sangeeta Gupta is a Delhi-based bilingual poet, artist, writer, and filmmaker. She has held 36 solo exhibitions and authored 36 books, including 26 poetry collections in Hindi and English. Her work has been translated into 11 languages. As a filmmaker, she has directed 36 documentaries, six of which are archived in the Library of Congress, USA. Her creative biography Song of the Cosmos reflects her rich legacy. She received a D.Litt. at the 42nd World Congress of Poets (2023) and was recognized by Destiny Poets, UK. Her memoir Sigma Woman was published in 2025.

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Setu, July 2025