To be able to Fall in Love Again and Again …

By Jayant Kashyap—

TO BE ABLE TO FALL IN LOVE AGAIN AND AGAIN --

Even from a distance, you still look the same.

It’s been years now.

I’ve remembered you with your fallen walls, shelled
	mirrors, bloodless faces, children
	with stones and guns;

	—with things we did to you for nothing.

I’ve loved you with your broken, faithless hearts, with
	your dreams of the sun, and with my dreams
	of snow.

I’ve seen you in fear.

I’ve seen you strong.

I’ve seen you
	wrong, and rebellious—

	and I’ve loved you.

When you sit in a Shikara* upon the Dal, all by yourself, all
	at once, in a silence known only to you—
	and embraced only by you,

I’ve loved you then.


*Shikaras are light boats and can be found on Dal Lake in Kashmir. 

Jayant Kashyap is an Indian poet. His third pamphlet, Notes on Burials, won the New Poets Prize in 2024 (smith|doorstop, 2025). He’s also published a zine, Water (Skear Zines, 2021).

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