An intense love poem by Lopamudra.
Crush me like old dust
between your palms,
Let me burn in sulphur flames
amid those burning grains.
I want to die,
the last humdrum embers.
As you scratch my skin
to purge the hostile juices,
You remind me of childhood
and make-believe clichés.
Let me be the scab, the bitch,
As you press your palms against mine.
Catch me in a forbidden corner,
licking my eyes’ wax,
My hunger, as I read out to you
my poetry and quirks.
From one world to the next, I hold you
In burning breath
and the whimsies of fairy tales.
My sunflower and iris, my ocean and sky
Prostrated at your feet,
my imperfect, tilted world
A selective oblivion.
©Lopamudra Banerjee
Pix from Net
Lopamudra Banerjee is an author, poet, translator, and editor with nine solo books and six anthologies spanning fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Her work has earned recognition in India and the USA. Recent notable books include a collaborative poetry collection with Priscilla Rice, We Are What We Are (1st Prize, New York Book Festival 2024); her translation of Mallika Sengupta’s Kabir Bouthan as The Bard and His Sister-in-Law (Honorary Mention, Paris and Hollywood Book Festivals 2024); and Draupadi theke Nijashwi (2025).
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