(I) How do you bear the separation While your home is under siege: By recalling an army of metaphors Or dead clichéd caterpillars of hope? How do you bear separation alone While you oscillate between awful Dregs of despair and the hazy Halloweens of commercial ads? (ii) How do you … Read more →
Zoon by Salik Basharat
I sprint down the stairwell and rush through the backdoor to hear the laments of a hundred faithful; while of a hundred thousand more I do not hear, but feel – like an ache in my bones. this veiled support and this willed support has opposed – And so have … Read more →
It’s not safe outside by Azhar Wani
Agar firdous But heaven is an archive. And it has been full Since before us, as the History of man, Fills rooms and lush gardens. Kohl Eyed Virgin Archivers Look around to read, forever, And Cry. Bar royye But Dearest, our faces are left to shine under A moon, so … Read more →
Resistance is our inheritance by Zahida War
Resistance is our inheritance “In the dark of the night – The snare was laid out Prisoned in our own homes, At gunpoint, lips sealed Our hearts silently crying And yet there is no empathy From those who call us their own, Rather, as a Kashmiri woman I am objectified … Read more →
Ten poems by Anita Bharti
RUKHSANA’S RESIDENCE BY ANITA BHARTI Translator: Nupur Jain RUKHSANA’S RESIDENCE – 1 Thoughts about you can never cease Rukhsana, from the depth of your eyes arises the question with a new lease of life – A silent tear rolling down your sudden shudder from pain by a memory that turns … Read more →
Three Poems by Chandramohan Sathyanathan
Chandramohan Sathyanathan is the author of poetry collections Warscape Verses (2014) and Letters to Namdeo Dhasal (2016), shortlisted for Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize and the Harish Govind Memorial Prize. Sathyanathan coordinates English-language poetry readings in Kerala as well as a subaltern cultural collective there; in 2016 Outlook Magazine listed him … Read more →