By Pravat Kumar Padhy
I am a Woman
the stones stack
one above another
in deep silence
void mingles with the wind
rumbling into the emptiness
**** **** ****
dark patches
of the colour of the skin
he screams aloud
as if moon with its lost shine
hides behind the dense cloud
**** **** ****
she fears to call
the wave by which name
layers over layers
she drags her footmarks
as the rain follows the rain
**** **** ****
memory
still frightens her
every evening
tears mingle
with her bereaved sea
**** **** ****
wiping tears
gently from her face
with a needle of hope
she threads the pain in between
reading life, like an anthology of poem
**** **** ****
she reminisces
about events long gone by
floating leaves
gather patches of shadow
mixed with receding sunshine
***** ***** *****
holding the breeze
near the liberty square
she wishes
the sculpture to proclaim
her expression of tender pray
**** **** ****
like an adrift tree
often she got bled and burnt
the woman of justice
holds the beam balance,
the cover page of Social science
Note: These five-line poems are excerpts from the manuscript, “I am a Woman”
Covid-19: An Intruder
stillness
like a deep forest…
invisible invaders
axe everyone, like trees
falling silently into sleep
**** **** ****
all around
beyond the border
a tremor of panic
swollen eyes turn
into craters of stormy rain
**** **** ****
since sunrise
he has been breathing hard
a stone even feels
the pain of suffering
as he strides towards his last evening
**** **** ****
his last word
mingles with void…
we scream aloud
as the storm blows away
all the petals of our hope
**** **** ****
aliens, if any,
might be wondering
about the planet
deep shadow of silence
eclipses under the trembling fear
**** **** ****
dawn to dust
a long walk to the cemetery…
the last line
in the book of condolence
reads curse of the cruel Covid-19
**** **** ****
seed of hope
lies under the soil
to sprout
wish for mankind to witness
the garden of flower and fragrance
Pravat Kumar Padhy has obtained his Masters of Science and Technology and a Ph.D from Indian Institute of Technology, ISM Dhanbad. His literary work is cited in Interviews with Indian Writing in English, Spectrum History of Indian Literature in English, Alienation in Contemporary Indian English Poetry, History of Contemporary Indian English Poetry etc. His poems received many awards and commendations including the Editors’ Choice Award at Writers Guild of India, Asian American Poetry, Poetbay, Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, UNESCO International Year Award of Water Co-operation and others. His tanka, ‘I mingle’ is featured in the “Kudo Resource Guide”, University of California, Berkeley. His poem, “How Beautiful” is included in the Undergraduate English Curriculum at the university level.
Borderless 