SWAPNA BEHERA, INDIA (Peace Poem)

Swapna Behera

A   midnight agreement of peace

In the dusky corner of the globe sleeps a seed 

a jerk, a crack, layers of crumpled cells alienated

to decipher the midnight agenda of peace

two leaves will come out

to touch the sky piercing 

toxic ether, five elements,

toxic relationship or toxic digital footsteps 

roots will go down to reach the legacy of love

the silent agreement on the soil

are the leaves safe? 

Wake up dear all 

a poet needs a paper

a student needs a life skill 

a granny needs a support system 

a baby in the refugee camp needs milk

where is the story teller?

The little plant coronates in sync with the heart

never knows who is ready to be a martyr for peace 

as peace is a sojourn journey and not the destination

eternal rhythm dances from the courtyard to the graveyard…. 

 

 

When peace speaks…

When peace speaks silently

the whole world listens

the audacity fills each hungry stomach.

 

When peace sings

the soldier writes the resolution 

no wreaths: no blood shed

the lost languages fill the dictum of themes.

When peace commands

each bomb cell dies 

to resurrect as a holy basil. 

When virgin eyes of peace look

values become classical songs

the stars announce the Anthem of liberty.

When peace stands on the traffic square 

ethics march forward 

towards the goal crossing all boundaries. 

 

Profile:

Swapna Behera is a trilingual poet, translator, eco activist, peace ambassador, educationist, editor from Odisha and author of seven books of different genres including one on children’s literature and environment. She is the recipient of International Ugadi award 2019, honoured from Gujarat Sahitya Akademi 2022, 2021, Honoured Poet of India from Seychelles Government and International awards from Algeria, Morocco, Kajhakhstan, modern Arabic Literary Renaissance of Egypt, Argentina etc. Her poem A NIGHT IN THE REFUGEE CAMP is translated into 67 languages. At present she is also the Cultural Ambassador for India and South Asia of Inner Child Press USA.

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Setu, September 2023 :: Peace Poem

SWAPNA BEHERA, INDIA

Swapna Behera

Ms. Swapna Behera is a trilingual poet, translator and editor, and author of seven books of different genres including one on children's literature on Environment. She is a recipient of International UGADI AWARD 2019, Gujurat Sahitya Akademi Award-2022 & 2021, International Poesis Award of Honor as Jury, Pentasi B World Fellow Poet, Honoured Poet of India Award from the Seychelles Government and International awards from Algeria, Morocco, Kajhakhstan, Egypt and Argentina. Her poem A NIGHT IN THE REFUGEE CAMP is translated into 67 languages.

A MYSTICAL SOUL RISES 

When your lucrative smile

dazzles on the gypsy grass

being a dot ;

I wait for dawn

you descend 

with bulletins of enigmatic draft 

tinkles your benign audacity

my being dances in the tune 

dew drops of eternity 

proceed towards my soul

 

This collaboration paints 

the eighth colour of the rainbow

and sings the Anthem of ecstasy

I feel your arms around me 

the dot extends

to be your circle 

 climax echoes in the ether

I wait to surrender my solitude 

and join the perennial stream 

 you open 

my nose stud

I become 

your bride for ever ...

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Solitude of Soul 2023 :: Setu, March 2023

Swapna Behera, INDIA

Exclusive: Best of Women Poetry: Edited by Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

WHO IS MY MOTHER?

the baby in the womb

where is the time for foreplay or euphoria?

sperms and ovum implanted 

nomadic dreams in money making zone

the woman is secluded for nine months

swallowing tonics under observation

husband at home of rags near the graveyard

cooking rice for four daughters

the mutual deal was to earn money from surrogacy

hormones, homophones and dream home in circle

Inside the womb a story of combination and permutation

Mr and Mrs came from abroad

tested the babe with penny eyes

alas! the baby has only one foot; so rejected

poor lady with tears

now   to feed the fifth mouth;

husband sans job

the baby asks ‘’who is my mother?’’

Is the baby a commodity?

now that she becomes a huge liability

the innocent tiny eyes with queries millions

sings universal song

I am life, I am life

but who is my mother...?

Swapna Behera is a former teacher, bilingual contemporary poet, author, translator and editor from Odisha, India. She has penned six books. She is the recipient of the UGADI AWARD 2019, International Poesis Award of Honor for Literature as Jury in 2015, The Enchanting Muse Award 2017, Pentasi B World Fellow Poet in 2017, The Life time Achievement Award, ATAL BIHARI BAJPAYEE AWARD-2018, Global Literature Guardian Award 2018, and world Laureate in literature from Kazakhstan. Currently, she is the National President for India of Hispanomundial Union of Writers UHE, Peru and the Cultural Ambassador for India and South Asia of Inner Child Press U.S.

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Best of Women Poetry -2020 :: Setu, March 2020

Swapna Behera, INDIA

DID YOU HASH TAG ME?

Did you hash tag me?

With my gender

my kitchen,

my caste,

colour or religion

my breasts, my curves

or may be with sanitary napkins

Isn’t my existence

Beyond your hash tags

I am a pilot, a farmer

A nurse and a teacher

I am a progeny

of my own

I run, I smile,

I rush in a local train

I try shy

I win, I shine

I bear, I deliver

I cook; while shiver in fever

I sing, I dance                                                                       

I raise my voice

I rise as a Sun in your horizon

And sleep in my graveyard

To be born again and again

Yes, I am beyond........

and you need me by the way ...!!!!

A NIGHT IN THE CITY OF *DRAUPADI

A night in the city of Draupadi

is so hazy, colossal

Her body becomes the geography

How gloriously she surrenders

to hunger and life

Her reflexive poetry flutters

Burns, and melts for her family

to be a country

A river

A mountain

A glacier

A fire

A whisper, a lullaby

And an Eternal Mother

* Draupadi is the wife of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharat.

HOW FAR IS MY HEAVEN?

How far is my Heaven?

Is it higher than the Himalayas?

Or is it in the railway subway?

Where my red frock hangs like a flag

How far is my Earth?

Is it a grass field

With the vitiligo outline

How far is my flying zone?

Is it just hopping in my eyelids

Painting love to prove my dream?

Swapna Behera, a former teacher, is a bilingual contemporary poet, author, translator and editor from Odisha, India. She has penned five books. She is the recipient of the UGADI AWARD 2019, International Poesis Award of Honor for Literature as Jury in 2015, The Enchanting Muse Award 2017, World Icon of Peace in 2017, the Pentasi B World Fellow Poet in 2017,Gold Cross Of Wisdom Award ,The Best Teachers of the World from W.U.P.in 2018, and The Life time Achievement Award, ATAL BIHARI BAJPAYEE AWARD-2018 ,Global Literature Guardian Award 2018.She is the Ambassador of Humanity from Africa 2018 and an official member of World Nation’s Writers Union ,Kazakhstan2018. At present she is the President (Governor of International Relations) of the Superior Council of W.U.P, Italy, the National President for India by Hispanomundial Union of Writers (UHE), Peru and the Cultural Ambassador for India and south Asia of Inner Child Press U.S.

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Women, Power & Creativity :: Setu, March 2019