A powerful and poignant protest poem, by Rituparna, exclusively for Different Truths.
Why should not I if I have that power? It is my nature to steal and snatch. Record fails to keep records of misdeeds I have created since ages. I have stolen and snatched. Yes, I have, Abhimanyu from his Uttara’s arms, Achilles from his mother’s bosom, Vikram Batra from his beloved, Manoj Gupta from his son, and many more. I was, I am, I will be the burning forever evidence to so many deaths and so many cries of the hapless mothers, clueless orphans, widowed wives, deserted beloveds. I find sadist pleasure to destroy, to disrupt, to dissociate, to distort, to devastate, to disembark life from the living, sense from the sensible, love from feelings. I am the stepchild of life, her own is peace. But war and peace, together we exist. I am that negativity who turns every positive to ruins. I love the way I am. Yes, eternal war I am.
Poet’s note: Achilles, Abhimanyu, Vikram Barra, Manoj Gupta are mythological, historical and war heroes and martyrs.
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Rituparna Khan is an Assistant Professor in Geography at Bidhannagar College, Salt Lake, Kolkata. Her inclination to Literature, especially poetry is no less. A few of her works are published and well appreciated and awarded in print as well as social media. Her first book, a collection of short stories, was launched at Kolkata International Book Fair, this year.
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