Rajashree’s poem is a poignant lament of lost love. This verse mourns the broken promises and passion sacrificed for society’s expectations and pretences, exclusively for Different Truths.

I shall tell you what woes,
what pains, 
and their pangs that I have borne
If ever I meet you...
 
You, too, would say 
 how you have set aside my love 
 and your promises of our tryst! 

 Is it not true that 
 we have gone on smouldering 
 in our need for each other 
 
 Is it not that we have 
 against our wishes, 
 made a bonfire of our love,  
 in the name of the world, 
our false alibi?

Picture design by Anumita Roy

Rajashree Mohapatra

Rajashree Mohapatra, born in Odisha, has received her master’s degree in ‘History’, and ‘Journalism and Mass Communications’ from Utkal University. She is a teacher by profession. Being a postgraduate in ‘Environmental Education and Industrial Waste Management’ from Sambalpur University, she has devoted herself as a social activist to the cause of social justice, environmental issues, and human rights in remote areas through non-governmental organisations. Poetry, painting, and journalism are her passions.