An evocative and poignant poem about love and its loss, by Gopal, exclusively for Different Truths.

And another day winds down, after the sun has sunk
into the river, words now become solidified wax.

The narrow roads are lightless. The trees bend
to one side, losing their songs in every leaf.

All things unborn of me, time thrust in like
a cracked seed in its strangeness, in its smell.

Those conversations that we learn from the birds
but for a few moments, fly away far and beyond.

Now I ask and something else you answer,
getting your hands now with bites and grimaces

Every vein of your faces grows silent, shielded
in the embrace, eyes sketch fine lines on the

steady palm, fingers scribble in an unknown
language, pointing those years of sparkle and delight.

Visual by Different Truths

Gopal Lahiri

Gopal Lahiri, a prolific bilingual poet, critic, editor, writer, and translator, has 32 published books, including eight solo/jointly edited volumes. His poetry and prose grace over 150 global journals and anthologies, with translations into 18 languages across 17 countries. Nominated for the 2021 Pushcart Prize and 2025 Best of the Net, he earned the 2020 Setu Excellence Award and 2024 First Jayanta Mahapatra National Award. His work features in the Penguin Book of Poems on Indian Cities.