In an enigmatic personal poem, Kavita recalls how her husband remembered his father – exclusively for Different Truths.

For three weeks after his father died
His son, now my husband,
Told me he could not stop
Inhaling the fragrance of his shirts
Hanging in the old Godrej cupboard,
Each day he’d open the cupboard
Put his nose to the shirts, taking a deep whiff.
 
I asked him why he did that
‘It was the only way to bring him back,’ he said
His father was only fifty-two
His son just twenty-one.
 
I had never met him
But as we stood in the kitchen
Drinking our tea
The warmth of hard work and kindness
Wafted in through the windows
Brought in by rays of sunshine.

Picture design by Anumita Roy

Kavita Ezekiel Mendonca

In a career spanning over four decades, Kavita Ezekiel Mendonca has taught English in Indian colleges, AP English in an International School in India, and French and Spanish in private schools in Canada. Her poems are featured in various journals and anthologies, including the Journal of Indian Literature published by the Sahitya Akademi and the Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English. Kavita has authored two collections of poetry.