They bloom every spring

red, flamboyant and unabashedly bold

they swarm roads, lanes, and highways

setting them aflame in the color of blood. 




They bled right here, beneath this tree

women

girls

infants

unborn

their blood siphoned up

by hungry roots

as earth gave those

let down by

family

society

country 

a resting place

a home. 




We don't become stars after we die--

like Sita, we are rooted by blood to earth

so we become the shimul

red, flamboyant and unabashedly bold.

* * * * *

Photo credit of Shimul by poet.

Rita Bhattacharjee is a communications consultant who has managed corporate and internal communications for companies across diverse industries, including non-profits. She is the co-founder of Mission Arogya and Arogya HomeCare and has recently relocated from the US to India to channel her skills towards social entrepreneurship.  She also writes poetry, some of which has been have been included in anthologies and published in journals including The Copperfield Review, Contemporary Literary Review, Camel Saloon, Café Dissensus, About Place Journal, and Kitaab.