In this poem, a bartender counsels Vandana on life’s unpredictability and the heart’s resilience, exclusively for Different Truths.
I have found the sanest advice From bartender When the night was young The day had died The Godmen were asleep Or furtively being bad I took my chances I tossed coins That didn’t always win A wise old drinker Told me Your heart With or without Its stents Is yours Some days it’s up for healing Some nights, it will remain broken Like that dog in the corner Turning away All food on offer.
Picture design by Anumita Roy
Vandana Kumar is a French teacher, translator, Indie Film Producer, cinephile and poet in New Delhi, India. Her poems have been published in several national and international websites, literary journals, and anthologies of repute. Her cinema articles appear regularly in ‘Just-cinema’
and ‘The Daily Eye’. Her debut anthology of poems ‘Mannequin of Our Times’ was published in February 2023.The book has been awarded The Panorama International Book Award 2023.
By
By
By
By