Poetry: Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Our Own Uniqueness

Write a haiku in free verse
If you so wish
Or, write a sonnet
With a new scheme of rhyme,
Whispered the soul of Earth
To my bleeding heart
As I sat in solitude on a high cliff
Watching raging waves crash upon
A deserted shore!
Write of anything you wish,
Even if it be called
Contemporary poetry
Or modern freestyle,
As you are made of uniqueness
And will simply not adjust to
Being a structured poem,
Set in metre and rhyme,
Or an automated robot
Going about with rules and regulations
Just because
The rest of humankind does so!
The flower that breathes in you
Is of unknown essence to the world
So, 
Water it,
Instead of uprooting it
To plant another’s!
***


Bravery

Is it important,
That which you cling on to
Even if it holds no consideration
For your tears, for how you have spent
Your day and for how it is breaking 
Your heart into a million pieces?
Is it important,
Just because you like it,
Or you are attracted to it,
Or, because you care for it
And feel a strong affiliation for it?
Pray, mystical essence inhabiting
A human body,
You are stronger than that,
Yes,
You are a flower standing alone
Upon a high cliff, facing a cyclonic night,
You are meekness standing up
To a cluster of evil,
You are warmth
Able to melt the solid ice caps
At Earth’s poles
And sometimes,
Your bravery gets painted upon
Your whole being
Just because
You are able to let go!
***

Freedom

The children of Earth
Are free
To do as they will
Since
The end word shall be,
Death and its mystery!
The children of Earth
Are free
To enjoy of whatever, they want
As long as they remain upon
A path of good choices,
Actions and words!
Should they wish to seek unicorns
Instead of being caged in classrooms
Or should they try to build a ladder
Long enough to reach the moon,
Why, their way is not to be hampered,
Rather,
They are to be encouraged,
Since life has always been ruled
By its end,
And nothing shall ever change
About that for a long time
To come!
Being a child of Earth,
I let not the thorns of society
Cling on to my open wings,
Rather,
I shrug them off
And soar, high over mountains 
And valleys, enjoying the feel
Of the winds in my face
And the thrill of the moment!
***

Bio: Anoucheka Gangabissoon is a Primary School Educator in Mauritius.  She writes poetry and short stories as hobby.  She considers writing to be the meaning of her life as she has always been influenced by all the great writers and wishes to be, like them, immortalized in her words.  Her works can be read on poetrysoup.com and she had also appeared in various literary magazines like SETU, Different Truths, Dissident Voice, In Between Hangovers Press, WISH Press, Tuck’s Magazine, Blue Mountain Review, among others.  She has also been published in Duane’s Poetree and also in two anthologies for the Immagine and Poesia group.  Her poems are often placed in free online contests.  She has been selected to be among the Most Influential Women in Mauritius for the 2017 category Arts and Culture and she has also been awarded as a Promising Indian for the year 2017 for the same category.  In 2018 and 2019, she was again selected to be among the Most Influential Women of the island for her contribution to the literary field and in 2019, she was one of the three nominees for the National Awards organized by the Ministry of Arts and Culture of Mauritius.  In 2020, she was shortlisted to be among the Most Impactful Women of the year for the Women of the Year awards.

---

Setu, Febuary 2021

Hyphenated Identities: Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Anoucheka Gangabissoon is a Primary School Educator in Mauritius. She writes poetry and short stories as a hobby. Her works can be read on poetrysoup.com and she has also appeared in various literary magazines like SETU, Different Truths, Dissident Voice, In Between Hangovers Press, WISH Press, Tuck’s Magazine, Blue Mountain Review, among others. She has also been published in Duane’s Poetree and also in two anthologies for the Imagine and Poesia group. She has been selected to be among the Most Influential Women in Mauritius for the 2017 category of Arts and Culture, and she has also been awarded as a Promising Indian for the year 2017 for the same category. In 2018 and 2019, she was again selected to be among the Most Influential Women of the island for her contribution to the literary field and in 2019, she was one of the three nominees for the National Awards organized by the Ministry of Arts and Culture of Mauritius.

Land Which I dream Of

Credit for image: Aditya Saxena on Unsplash

I know of America

Only as to what I see of it

On TV,

Or on Facebook!

For me,

It remains the dream land

Where poets are revered

And their art given due deference!

It is also the land

Where rights speak out loud

As proudly as

Would peacocks brandish their feathers

Wanting the rest of the world

To see for themselves

How perfect they are

Even amidst their own imperfections!

America is the place

Where cultures have mixed

To create a new human,

One who has, in him,

A beautiful canvas

Painted with all the colours

Available in this world!

But then,

This same human

Or,

The same peacock

Cannot forget

That regardless of the cultural richness

That inhabits him

He has, running in his veins,

The same blood

Running in those of the pigeons,

Or even those of the chickens!

Pray,

This land,

Someday,

I just know,

I’ll step on its soils

And then,

It shall uncoil its magic upon me

And I shall use it

To paint my own little island

With its essence!

---

Hyphenated Identities :: Setu, August 2020

Poetry: Anoucheka Gangabissoon

The Island of Flavours

Mauritius is like a huge connected town

In the middle of the Indian Ocean,

It being so open and welcoming

Not only to its inhabitants

But to people coming to visit it

From the rest of the world!

We do have borders, towns and villages here

But it makes no difference whether you

Are in the northern part of the island

Or in the south

As the smiles, the twinkling of eyes

And the warmth is the same!

Seafood abounds and the people enjoy

Nights out eating fresh fish, crabs

Or even lobsters cooked in several ways

By local fishermen on the open beaches,

Under the light of the stars and that of the moon!

Each and every man who lives here

Has bells of faith ringing in his heart,

Each in his own way

As the various forms of God

Are all revered

Regardless of what name is given to Him!

And here, feelings of solidarity and companionship

Laugh all day long

As if they were the island's monarch

Making us all feel like

We are safe,

Even in the difficult times that we are living in!

But my favourite flavour,

That which I indulge in and still crave for more

Every single day

Is the mystical aura with which the island is dressed!

Here, there is the story of a blessed lake,

Inhabited by divine fairies

Who turned a milkman  into a mountain!

Yes,

Here, there are tales of werewolves, so different

From those told elsewhere

But so unique to Mauritius

And here,

Lies the power of the Mother Goddess

As she sits in a temple in the south,

Where we flock to,

Each time we can

To ask for forgiveness, for guidance

And for boons!

Why,

The island is multicultural

And so is its indigenous flavour

Blessed do I consider myself

To have birthed in such a place

And someday, I know,

As I shall fly to the other worlds

I shall look back, feel the hurt of separation

And miss,

This beautiful place!

Anoucheka Gangabissoon is a Primary School Educator in Mauritius.  She writes poetry and short stories as hobby.  She considers writing to be the meaning of her life as she has always been influenced by all the great writers and wishes to be, like them, immortalized in her words.  Her works can be read on poetrysoup.com and she had also appeared in various literary magazines like SETU, Different Truths, Dissident Voice, In Between Hangovers Press, WISH Press, Tuck’s Magazine, Blue Mountain Review, among others.  She has also been published in Duane’s Poetree and also in two anthologies for the Immagine and Poesia group.  Her poems are often placed in free online contests.  She has been selected to be among the Most Influential Women in Mauritius for the 2017 category Arts and Culture and she has also been awarded as a Promising Indian for the year 2017 for the same category.  In 2018 and 2019, she was again selected to be among the Most Influential Women of the island for her contribution to the literary field and in 2019, she was one of the three nominees for the National Awards organized by the Ministry of Arts and Culture of Mauritius.

---

Local 2020 :: Setu, June 2020

Hidden Aches Fiction Anoucheka Gangabissoon

~ by Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Lisa glanced up at the starry skies and sighed contentedly.  Life is turning out to be so good.  She had completed high school, had passed with flying colours and had recently been appointed “Administrative Assistant” for a local travel agency.  The sight of the twinkling stars and the huge moon melted her down.  “How mysterious life is,” she mused.  “It does have its share of folly, as well as its load of misery but being alive is an opportunity.  I shall do my best to live my life fully.  Someday, when I will grow old, I want to look back and smile, instead of carrying regrets.”  Peace settled over her and she closed her window to settle for sleep.  Tomorrow was going to be a new day at work and she wanted to be at her best.

Lisa’s days were quite hectic.  She had to get up at five o’clock sharp so as to be ready by six fifteen.  She would then walk to the bus station and wait for the company bus which would come around at six thirty.  The drive to the travel agency, which was found in the north of the island, lasted around one hour, time enough for her to reach before the opening time which was set to eight fifteen.

She would spend the days juggling between her boss and the clients, dealing with their travel issues, attending to their problems and sorting every problem that might crop up.  This would last till five in the evening, after which time she would be able to rest a bit while the company bus would leave her and her colleagues home.  She usually reached back home at seven thirty in the evening.  Fortunately, her parents never expected her to contribute in the load of housework.  Instead, they pampered her and made sure she lived a comfortable life.

Lisa was only twenty.  She was a beautiful young girl, the shadows of age had not yet touched her and she relished every single moment that life offered to her.  She was a tall and slim girl, she had long straight black hair that reached up to her waist and which framed her small rounded face so well.  Her eyes were hazel and large and they always lit up whenever she smiled.  When she was not working, mostly during the weekend, Lisa would go out shopping with her friends.

One day, as she returned from the beauty salon, her mother called her to her room and closed the door.

“I have to talk to you,” she said.

“What’s wrong, Mum?” asked Lisa as a worried frown creased her pretty face.

“Lisa,” said her mother on a most serious tone.  “You are a young and beautiful girl.  You are our only child and we love you a lot, your father and I.  We support you however much we can and we want you to be happy.  But, you see, we shall not be there forever.  We are getting older and older and we are worried for you.  Lisa, we want you to settle.”

“Oh,” said Lisa as she breathed out a sigh of relief.  “I thought I did something wrong.  I know about all that Mum but I am single for the time being and I wish to pursue my studies before settling.”

“Lisa,” said her mother.  “We have had a proposal from a good family for you.  Uncle Ricky came over earlier and talked about it to your father and I.  The boy is wealthy.  He lives, with his family, in the same town as we do, in the central part, though, near the vegetable market.  And, he has a good job, he is an accountant.  You shall be well cared for.  You would not need to do any more studies and you will not be required to work.  You shall take care of your own house and you shall have servants and maids to help you.”

“Well,” gulped Lisa.  “I would like to pursue my studies still before settling.”

“Lisa,” said her mother.  “You are the apple of your father’s eyes.  He wants you to settle.  He is so sad to see you toiling so hard every day.  He has asked me to tell you that he wants you to accept.”

“Can I give you a final answer tomorrow morning?”

“Yes.  That would do.”

Her mother left and Lisa remained in her room, sitting on her bed and staring through the window till very late in the evening.  She did not want to marry at such an early age.  She was a modern girl, she believed in her rights, she believed in standing on her own feet.  She had seen her cousin sisters going through ordeals at their in laws’ place and she had sworn not to let the same things happen to her.  But she loved her parents, and she wanted to please them.  She did not have the heart to let them down.  The good girl side of her took over her hesitation and her negativity.  So, she came out of her room at dinner time and helped her mother set the table.  Then, when they were all seated, ready for dinner, she said cheerfully,

“I wish to talk to the boy first before taking a decision.”

“Ok,” said her mother.  “I will talk to Uncle Ricky and we will arrange for a meeting.”

This was no sooner said than done.  Lisa found herself a few days later, all decked up, in one of her best sarees and waiting in her room for when she would be called to the living room to talk to her possible in laws.  She could hear her parents talking and she could hear the hustle and bustle of teacups and saucers as snacks and tea were being served.  She could hear the jolly laughs and the respected words in laws share with each other.  Her heart was beating fast.  Doubt and confusion were still there in her heart and she wondered if she was doing the right thing.  Her mother had talked about fate and about how no one could escape from it.  If she were to study further, her mother had logically pointed out, she would not have received such a good proposal.  Studies were surely not in her stars.  Rather, she had been chosen to live as comfortably as a queen.  Lisa was so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not hear the door open.

“It’s time,” said her mother.

Lisa looked up, all startled.  She smiled weakly and stood up.  She felt like an old woman.  She had no strength in her knees and she could hardly walk elegantly.  She hobbled around to get a good gait and straightened her shoulders.
“Don’t be scared,” said her mother.  “They are nice.  They may be so rich, as compared to us, but they are very humble.  I like them already.”

Lisa lived this new experience as if it were a dream.  The boy was called Harsh and though he was not all that handsome, he was the gentlest and the most polite of all the men Lisa had met so far.  He was dressed in a suit and tie, was tall but chubby and had on his face, something innocent.

“I like him,” said Lisa to herself.

They talked for a short time, time enough to decide if they would settle together.  Lisa was relieved.  He understood about her wish to study further and had promised to give her all the support she would need for such to be after they would be married.

“I can even help you in choosing your field,” he had said.  “It does not matter if you don’t work after you complete your studies.  We have everything at home.  You won’t lack anything,”

Lisa could not believe her luck.  She agreed to the marriage which was fixed in a few months’ time.  She quit her job and concentrated on getting everything ready for her big day.

“Mum,” she said.  “You were right about that.  I’m happy I chose to listen to you and Dad.”

“Promise me you will always make us proud of you,” said her mother.

“You can be sure of that,” said Lisa.  “I will never let you down.”

Finally, the great day came and the wedding ceremony was so fast that Lisa hardly knew what she was doing.  All she could think of was how it would feel like when she would be alone with Harsh.  He loved her, she was sure of that.  And she wanted to show him the feelings she had for him so badly.  The rites and the rituals mattered not.  She was just going through them as they were expected of anyone wishing to be married.  And Harsh looked so handsome, dressed in the traditional bridegroom wedding clothes.

When the ceremonies were over, Lisa got ready to follow Harsh to the car.  She hugged her mother tight and fell on the feet of her father.  She would see them again, she would not be so far away.  But still, tears filled up her eyes.  She was leaving her maternal home, the place where she had grown up.  The place where she felt at peace. The place where she had dreamt of conquering the world.  When the goodbyes were said, she settled next to Harsh in the car. Soon they reached her in laws’ house.

“Go inside,” Harsh told her.  “I will join you soon.”

“But,” protested Lisa.  “We have to go in together, there are rites and rituals to be completed.”

“Do as I have said,” said Harsh with authority.

Lisa felt hurt.  She could only stare at Harsh, open mouthed.  What had happened to this gentleman?  She could not move, she remained seated in the car until her mother in law came over and opened the door for her.

“Come,” she said.

“Where is Harsh going?” asked Lisa as the car driver backed the car out of the driveway and drove away.

“Come,” repeated the latter.  “You will do the rites yourself.”

Lisa obeyed and did as she was expected to.  Then, she was sent to her room where she undressed, took a bath and changed into lighter clothes.  There was a heavy atmosphere in that house.  Everyone was tense.  There seemed to be no marriage celebrations here.  Something was horribly wrong.  Her mother in law called her over for dinner and said,
“My son has married you.  I am expecting you to give me a heir.  A healthy boy will be ok, two boys will be better.  Of course, you will be expected to help us all in housekeeping and in the kitchen.”

Lisa gulped.

“Where is Harsh?  He had told me that it would be ok if I study for a three year degree first, before thinking of having babies.”

“My son does not live here.  He lives in an apartment in Hilly Woods.  He lives with his girlfriend, a foreign girl.  I was against their marriage.  I liked you, so he accepted to marry you.  We have agreed, my son and I, that he would come now and then and help you give me the heirs I desire. We have so much of property, we shall have to give it to someone from the same bloodline.  My son will help in raising the kids, financially I mean.  As for studies, we had never agreed to such a term.  Now, have your dinner.”

Lisa looked at her mother in law and felt her peaceful ethos crashing down.  She remembered her promise to her mother, she remembered the respect she held for her father, she could not let them down.  She remembered her convictions, her dreams, her beliefs, her choices.  She remembered the night she had breathed in deeply before going to sleep.  Life was no longer peaceful and serene.  She was no longer content.  She felt like there was a hurricane in her, she felt like it would break loose at any time.  She walked calmly to the table, pulled a chair and sat down.  Life would be thus now.  It must have been written in her fate that she would smile to the world and pretend to be happy while inside her, hidden aches would slowly but steadily build their nests.

Table of Contents, October 2016

Sinking into Decrepitude - short story

by Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Jesse ran his hands through his hair and sighed with regret.  If only he had listened to his wife, Sara.  The latter had warned him several times not to trust that money lender.  Now, he needed more money and he did not know from where to find it.  From across the room, he could hear his two month old baby girl, Rina, coughing.  The latter was sick.  Doctors did not know yet what was ailing her but they had prescribed so many medicines for her.

“Such a tiny thing,” thought Jesse.  “And so much medications!”

Sara tended to Rina while Jesse sat at the kitchen table and wondered about what he would do now.  Rina was vomiting, again.

“Jesse, could you help me with the cleaning up?” called out Sara.

Jesse pretended not to hear, he just closed his eyes and swallowed his tears.  This was not his idea of the perfect family.  This was not what he has pictured when he had married Sara.  This was not what he had pictured when his baby girl had come to Earth.

But he was a man, he had to act as such.  He gruffly stood up, pushed the chair away and said in a very rude manner,

“You do what you have to.  I am going to see my Boss.”

As he left, Sara watched him, feeling more and more helpless.  She did not want to lose her child.  She could be cured.  She was sure of that.  The only problem was that they lacked money.

“Please Sir,” Jesse said to his boss.  “It’s just a small loan that I’m asking from you.  I will repay it back within a year.”

Daren, for that was his name, finished his lunch, gulped down his white sparkling wine and called out to his dog, to feed him the leftovers.  Jesse’s belly growled.  He was embarrassed, he hoped Daren did not hear it.  As it is, he hasn’t eaten properly since three weeks ago, since Rina had started vomiting.  Daren was a fully built man, he was tall and muscular.  He had a great body and he was in a great shape.  His clothes were so neat that they looked as if they had just been bought from the shop.  He looked like a well-cared man.

“Jesse,” said Daren calmly.  “I understand your problem.  But your wages are not given by me.  It’s given by a whole corporation.  If I have to give you a loan, I will have to seek for their approval.  It could be that they agree to it, it could be that they do not.  Anyhow, you will have to wait.”

“For how long?”

“For nearly two weeks.”

“That long?  But my baby is sick.”

“I know, I know.  Calm down.  You see, our company’s director is not in Mauritius.  He is abroad for a deal.  He will be back next Saturday.  And the management team will have a meeting only Monday next.  You will have to wait, I will not be able to help you before that.”

“What if I work overtime for you Sir? Or what if I do anything for you around the house?  Maybe you could help me then.”

“Jesse, we already have workers at home.  You do a great job as our company’s security guard.  And as for working overtime, well it amounts to the same thing.  I won’t be able to take any decision on my own.”

“So there is no way out for me then?”

“Your  baby will be fine, relax, don’t worry.”

“But she needs medication.  And I don’t have the money for it.  Without those syrups, her health will deteriorate.”

“I am sure you will find the solution while waiting throughout those two weeks.”

Just then, Daren’s seven year old daughter came sauntering over to him.  She was a gorgeous little thing, with short curly hair and big blue eyes, same as her father’s.  She wore a little flowery pinkish summer dress and matching sandals.

“Dad,” she pouted.  “Mum said you would take me to the park today.”

“I will darling.  Just give Daddy some time.”

“But I am all set.”

“I will see you in ten minutes.  Is Mum ready?”

“Yes.  She is.”

“Then tell her I’ve asked her to get in the car and wait.  You wait for me as well.  I’m just coming.”

The girl happily sauntered away and Jesse felt his heart wrench.  He wondered if he would ever get to see his daughter playing around at the age of seven.

“Well,” said Daren.  “I have to go now.  Are you working tonight?”

“Yes I am.  Sir, can’t you even give me some money just like that?”

“Well I have to see to my family now.  Go away!”

“Sir, please….”

“Rob!” called out Daren.  “I need you here.”

Just then, a huge man walked over to Jesse and ordered him away in a very stern manner.  Jesse was pushed out of the yard and the gate closed itself.  Some minutes later, it was opened again as the majestic range rover of Daren just whisked by.

Jesse felt helpless.  He even felt worthless.  He was a man, a working man and he was not being able to do anything for his family.  Whereas Daren, a working man too, but one with loads of money, was doing so much for his family.  Jesse walked around aimlessly.  He looked at his surroundings, he lived in the village of Terre-Noire.  He looked at the people walking around, some of them whom he was acquainted to, some of whom he knew as being his family friends and felt disgusted at their selfishness.  Those people would talk to him, invite him over for a drink, laugh and share jokes with him.  But now that word had spread that his baby girl was sick, they were all avoiding him.  Some of them pretended to be absorbed in their conversations as he walked by.  Some others had their noses stuck in their newspapers.  Whichever, he was now invisible.

Jesse remembered how he had helped his neighbor, Ram, when the latter lost his job.  For three months, Ram and his family had been given food, three times a day.  He remembered how he was always ready to help in his company, how he would never ever refuse any work.  But, now, everyone was turning their backs on him and that hurt like hell.

Jesse came home late that evening.  He had wandered around town, feeling hopeless.  He had thought of begging for money on the sidewalk but his pride had not allowed him to.  He no longer cared for work.  By that time, he should have been at work already.  But nothing mattered now, nothing at all.  He would let things go the way they feel like going.  He opened the kitchen door and was surprised to find the house all dark.

“Sara?” he called out gruffly.

“Am here,” said a frail voice.

Jesse walked around the house and switched on the light in each room.  Finally, he saw Sara, sitting in a corner in the living room.  She had been sitting in the dark and she held Rina in her arms.

“Have you prepared dinner?” he asked.

Sara looked at him and her eyes told him what he needed to know.  He looked at the still baby in her arms and went out again.  He called to his neighbors to help Rina.  The weight of everything crashed down on him but, he was a man.  He needed to act like one.  He would have to be strong, and tough too.

“I need a transport,” he said to Ram.  “I have to take the lifeless body of my child to the hospital.”

“I will see to that,” said a shocked Ram.

The baby was taken for an autopsy.  The cause of her death would be determined later on.  Sara had become so blank.  Jesse left them all sitting dejectedly at the hospital and walked out.  He needed an escape.  He needed to bury his inner rage.  He needed to let off all the steam he had amassed in him.  He could hear people calling him, urging him to stay as the doctors would require his thumb print on the authorization papers.  But, they all seemed to be part of a haze.  He walked out and let the chill air engulf his senses.

As he walked, he came across Daren’s house.  The seeds of evil, already in him, bloomed into a horrible, foul smelling monster and Jesse broke into the house.  He managed to get in by climbing over a wall, without letting Rob know of his presence.  The house was empty.  They were all probably still having fun at the park, or, somewhere else.  Jesse took a knife from the kitchen and hid himself in the cellar.  While waiting, he had more than a few bottles of wine.  He felt so powerful.  What he was about to do seemed so right.  Daren could have helped in curing Rina.  All he needed was money.  Jesse waited, patiently, as a tiger would wait for its prey.  He waited and when the time was right, he struck.

Everyone talked about that gruesome family murder for months.  Everyone talked of how a poor watchman, frustrated and depressed over the death of his own baby girl, had killed his boss and his wife and daughter.  They had all been found in their beds, each had suffered more than ten blows.  The killer had been found unconscious in the yard.  It turned out that he could not remember anything about the previous night.  But the police was sure it was him.  The knife was still with him when they found him.

Table of Contents, August 2016

Three Poems by Anoucheka Gangabissoon

The Feel of Life
                                                                                                                    

Waves flutter around lazily

In a most gentle and comforting manner
As if to me they did want to say
Why do you fret for being the way you are

Do you really need to attain perfection

Do you really need to be the best
Do you really need to attract praise
Do you really need to be the most eminent

Does it all matter

Would you not rather be you
Simply you, flawed, frail, mistaken
Scared, doubtful, not so confident, emotional
Yet, being at the same time, close to the skies

Say if this life matters not

If awakened does be your soul
Why do you fret for being the way you are
Someday, you shall close this chapter forever

And start a new one in a world known as the one greater

The one more radiant
More excellent
The one made of beauty, in its immensity

Learn to be nice to yourself

Learn to be tolerant
To accept yourself
To give time to your own self

Yes, time, time to grow, to learn

To forgive, to be forgiven
To unlearn, and to learn again from your mistakes
Remember, remember that one higher power did choose to make you such

I watched the waves flutter around lazily

And stretched back on the cold sand
How wonderful, life is wonderful
It is, it really is, I just needed to feel it in me!


A Celestial Glance at Life

A seed, ignorant of its own being

A seed, brought to its own climax
By an unknown propelling force
A seed,
Blind
Deaf
Dumb
A seed,
So oblivious
So ignorant
A seed, brought to light
Or to darkness
Whichever, this world does be made of both
A seed, grown and blossomed
Into a being so full of itself
That it realizes not that it swims in a maze of ignorance
And life, in this manner, goes on its way
Filled with greed, desire, envy, lust
Wants, wants and more of wants
Fulfillment of the senses’ wants
Fulfillment of the ego’s wants
Fulfillment of its blinded vision’s wants
Caring naught about that propelling force
Caring not even to thank it
To wonder about what does it be made of
This seed,
Brought to its consciousness
Aimless, meaningless, directionless
Yet, believing everything to be real
Believing that a seed it is, one made of royal lineage
Caring not to see how fast time in this maze travels
But coming to realize all of a sudden
That old and worn
It has become a wilted being
No water can save it
No food can save it
Only that unknown power
That which propelled it forth once
That, and only that!
From it, it had sprung
And to it, it shall return
Life,
Does resume thus
If it were to be given a celestial glance!

Life Willed Me

Life willed me to see it as it really was

Life willed me to drop out of my dream shell
To savor its putridity
To bask in its evil surroundings

Life, I used to see it as being all painted in rose

Pampered had I been, pampered and well cared for
Seen as the one shy belle
I was such a one who lived in a glass castle

Life willed me to see its true face, for it was fed up with me

Indeed, so much of tantrums thrown
All for the sake of the mundane
The unreal, the transient, the unnecessary

Life, though, was kind enough to imbibe in me, some spirituality

Some philosophy, some love for the mystery
Indeed, now, even if I do see life as thriving in an evil world
I certainly am grateful for everything that I have been offered

Life, so uncertain

Life, so cruel
Life, relishing only on the sensual
Life, said to be the companion of the one who created it all

Life, trapping us all in its web
Life, wanting us to suffer, more and more
Emotional pains, mundane gains
Spiritual distancing, mundane attachments

Life, thankful I am to it, to have allowed my awakening

Pray, I shall live, and show my stature as one so bold
Life, I shall live, but as one so cautious
Wanting so little of life, so little indeed

Care I not about life, care I only for the world other

The one said to be made of purity
The one said to be the home of the divinity
Why, this life, it shall come to its end

Shall not even remain, my shivering shadow
Shall not even remain, my frail and fragile voice
Shall not even remain, my cries and my laughs
Shall remain though, my words, my many odes!

Life, I do see it as being all dark

Life, I shall deal with it with a calm wisdom
Life, I shall try my best to tackle it
For life, broken are the walls of my glass castle!

July 2016 Table of Contents

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Anoucheka Gangabissoon is a Primary School Educator in Mauritius.  She writes poetry and short stories as hobby.  She considers writing to be the meaning of her life as she has always been influenced by all the great writers and wishes to be, like them, immortalized in her words.  Her works can be read on poetrysoup.com and she had also appeared in various literary magazines like SETU, Different Truths, Dissident Voice, In Between Hangovers Press, WISH Press, Tuck’s Magazine, Blue Mountain Review, among others.  She has also been published in Duane’s Poetree and also in two anthologies for the Immagine and Poesia group.  Her poems are often placed in free online contests.  She has been selected to be among the Most Influential Women in Mauritius for the 2017 category Arts and Culture and she has also been awarded as a Promising Indian for the year 2017 for the same category.  In 2018 and 2019, she was again selected to be among the Most Influential Women of the island for her contribution to the literary field and in 2019, she was one of the three nominees for the National Awards organized by the Ministry of Arts and Culture of Mauritius.  In 2020, she was shortlisted to be among the Most Impactful Women of the year for the Women of the Year awards.

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