Here’s an irreverent poem about poets, poems, deadlines, and rejections, by Dr Roopali, exclusively for Different Truths.

The sudden closing of
Windows and doors.
Lying quietly on the floor
With naked fear lurking
Underneath the door.

Can it slip in?
Could you pour some sanitiser?
The hours are ticking away.
The Internet is the only lifeline.

Suffocating loneliness dispelled  
By strangers writing in the dark 
With just the bluish light. 

Somebody just like me
Closeted somewhere
Writing poems
Full of angst. 

Deadlines are not for the living.
Reams of poetry
I am thrilled, stoked, excited 
I am doing cartwheels, 
I am translated into fifty languages
I live in Alaska in an igloo 
You can read my poem in Tamil too.

That poet from Kerala 
What's her name? 
They are reading about her.
Monsoons and coconuts 
In Mongolia.

That deadline was a
Near-death experience.
Sorry, we don't like your poem.
You can try elsewhere.

Can I please take it back?
No way. We deleted it.
It was disgusting,
Cluttering up our site.

We have a suggestion.
You stop writing poetry.
You don't have it in you. 
I reached for the sanitiser.

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur

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.