A poem of despondency, helplessness, and hope, by Dr. Roopali, exclusively for Different Truths.
You can find me where you last saw me I am in no rush to go anywhere. Somebody or something put me here and I need to smell the flowers and just stand around and stare. Why do I have to be seen and heard everywhere? Why the rush and hurry to get somewhere When I know in my heart there is nowhere I am truly in no hurry to get anywhere. The heart must beat evenly Just as the tree stands still stretching its shady branches at will in flowering and fruiting and always giving and you call this procrastinating! The sky is not moving its blue clouds come and go, changing colours and a vanishing hue. The pouring gushing rain disappears The dancing wind in all its glory Is not seen, mostly feared. Stable and strong The Sun stays put in his space not getting about or moving from place to place yet warming, stirring and bringing to life creatures big and small without any strife It’s just rays touch with magic the girth of the moving earth. I think to live with grace You must refuse the rat race. You see If you win It will not be a sin you will only be a rushing rat or a fluttering blind bat. I am truly in no hurry to go anywhere I know deep in my heart there is a place somewhere called nowhere.
Picture design by Anumita Roy, Different Truths
Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur is a poet, travel writer, and social justice activist. A former professor of English Literature at Delhi University, and a creative writing professor at IGNOU, she is a widely published academic and creative writer. Her book Twice Colonised: Women in African Literature, is a seminal text on women’s socio-political empowerment. In 2020-21, she co-edited two poetry anthologies – In All the Spaces: Diverse Voices in Global Women’s Poetry, and Earth Fire Water Wind.
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