A powerful and poignant protest poem, by Rituparna, exclusively for Different Truths.

Why should not I if I have that power?
It is my nature to steal and snatch.
Record fails to keep records of
misdeeds I have created since
ages. 

I have stolen and snatched. Yes, I have,
Abhimanyu from his Uttara’s arms,
Achilles from his mother’s bosom,
Vikram Batra from his beloved,
Manoj Gupta from his son,
and many more. 

I was, I am, I will be the burning forever 
evidence to so many deaths and so
many cries of the hapless mothers,
clueless orphans, widowed wives,
deserted beloveds.
 
I find sadist pleasure to destroy, to disrupt,
to dissociate, to distort, to devastate,
to disembark life from the living,
sense from the sensible, love
from feelings.
 
I am the stepchild of life, her own is peace.
But war and peace, together we exist.
I am that negativity who turns every
positive to ruins. I love the way
I am. Yes, eternal war I am.

Poet’s note: Achilles, Abhimanyu, Vikram Barra, Manoj Gupta are mythological, historical and war heroes and martyrs.

Visual by Different Truths

Rituparna Khan

Rituparna Khan is an Assistant Professor in Geography at Bidhannagar College, Salt Lake, Kolkata. Her inclination to Literature, especially poetry is no less.  A few of her works are published and well appreciated and awarded in print as well as social media. Her first book, a collection of short stories, was launched at Kolkata International Book Fair, this year.

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