(1)
the stargazing
the dinner dates
and the sleepovers can wait
it’s time to sleep
on the streets
eating with your comrades
and resisting the bills
(2)
the blank wall
convinces me of my failure
to draw a graffiti
that will show solidarity
with the ants
trying to climb the wall
and the palaces of the rich
to dismantle their wealth
(3)
If you are searching for Rashid
Stop looking
Rashid is dead
Killed by a mob
His house
Bulldozed
Assam
UP
Delhi
Kashmir
He ran from every place
His name was his crime
And that’s what has been said
So, if you are searching for Rashid
Stop looking
(4)
cacophonies of the cradled heart
scared of silence, scared of sound
in a liminal space, i somehow exist
where fire threatens to catch me
from both the sides
I run. I run. I run. To the farthest
in the land I can see and yet the fire
somehow runs way faster than me.
“coward” they all call me
only I know to be me how brave one
needs to be
the wars on my body have deserted
the skin of any beauty that spring
brought upon me and the noise
of those jets flying like birds
have deafened the eardrums
of any music it held
I seek no home, just a place
to rest in peace while I breathe
Sutputra Radheye is a young poet from India. He has published two poetry collections — Worshipping Bodies (Notion Press) and Inqalaab on the Walls (Delhi Poetry Slam). His works are reflective of the society he lives in and tries to capture the marginalised side of the story.
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