Tag: Mizoram

Categories
Poetry

The Clown by Shamim Akhtar

Shamim Akhtar
THE CLOWN

There was a grand fair
in the wide field outside our not-so-famous town.
People waited for it all year –
saving a little,
just enough to enjoy a day with friends,
with family,
to see new things,
to bring home something fancy,
a bargain to cherish.

The circus was the heart of it all.
I remember, as a child,
a clown who mocked his own misfortune –
his sorrow turned into laughter
for everyone else.
We laughed too,
forgetting, for a while,
the weight we carried.
The next year,
I went back, searching for that face – 
the vividly painted smile,
his real face hidden beneath the colours
that shaped a foolish grin.

But the clown was gone.
There were the same acrobats,
the stunts on bikes,
the magician,
the elephants parading as before.

Except now, there stood a parrot – 
clever, talking,
outsmarting its master,
earning the applause of everyone,
who didn’t even notice
the clown’s absence

Dr. Shamim Akhtar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at ICFAI University Mizoram. He has recently authored a book titled Smoke and Society: The Culture, Consumption and Control of Tobacco in Mizoram. A researcher, writer, and passionate poet, he explores themes of memory, longing, and the human condition. His work often reflects a blend of lyrical sensitivity and deep introspection.

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PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Kindle Amazon International

Categories
Poetry

When You Are Loudest

By Juliet F Lalzarzoliani

Yes.

I pause and smile
as you cross my mind
while I sit with friends,
talking about politics,
pop culture,
and the lives of people
who think they are
kings and queens.

But when the noise fades,
when everyone goes quiet,
that is when you are loudest.

I miss that version of myself,
the one who laughed without trying,
who felt light and alive.

I miss the sound of your voice,
calm and kind,
the kind that could quiet
a storm inside someone.

Yes, I remember that day.
I saw you sitting with your friends
at a table.
You took off your glasses,
and you looked like my childhood crush
from when I was eleven,
when life was all mixtapes
and slow songs on the radio.

And that was enough
to miss you,
quietly,
sweetly,
all the same.

Yes.

Juliet F Lalzarzoliani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at ICFAI University, Mizoram. She writes about nostalgia, relationships, and self-reflection. She lives in Mizoram and is passionate about exploring life’s quiet moments through words.

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PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Kindle Amazon International

Categories
Poetry

Rain and You

By Shamim Akhtar

RAIN AND YOU 

On the glass pane of frozen desires,
little droplets of rain start to gather in playful haste.
Briefly they linger, dance, and knock into one another,
then fall carelessly down in eternal ecstasy.
From behind a closed window, quietly I stand and watch —
I don’t mind getting drenched in memories for a while

Dr. Shamim Akhtar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at ICFAI University, Mizoram. A researcher, writer, and a passionate poet explores themes of memory, longing, and the human condition. His work reflects a blend of lyrical sensitivity and deep introspection.

.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Kindle Amazon International