Monobina Nath The curls on the sky Split into lotus and Pistachio tint Blooms on My palette That has no paint- To dip, To revive My ageing leaves, Driving in dreams To and fro- An imaginary swing. I’m holding my paintbrush- Firmly, intimately To fill, to erase- My thirsty canvas To get moist By the…
Category: TWI Poetry Series
TWI Poetry: Prosthetic Beings
Divisha Chaudhry I hug youYou hug me The prosthetic gods are born like this We all contain divine elementsIt is the present that is rustedand so when we hug We become something plasticSomething which we manufacturedPatiently, tediously and diligently We hugWe become someone extraordinarySomething polished and We dissolve into our prosthetic parts That cling against…
TWI Poetry: Bathing an Old Woman
Basudhara Roy Coming to an old woman’s bodyis like coming to the end of the earth.A rainforest weary of plundershrinks here to autumnal renunciation. In her, an ancient monumentstanding erect to generations of awe seeks anonymity, dissolution.The face rises and sets with the sun. The bones’ currency spent, they lookfor reasons to succumb to gravity.Decalcified, they…
2 poems / Yamini Pathak
Kolkata Rain Skies boil over, lashof wind against the willof slim trees that curve, Apsarasin arabesque, sent from Indra’sheavens to tempt us from our duties Slanting sheets mud scentspaints pant-bottoms and hemsof sarees draggle wet and heavy Rickshaw-pullers slip and strain lean muscleagainst ribcage in streets with no drainage Come, lay down your armsbefore the…
2 poems / Gavin Barrett
Konkan The rain is no god of mercy for the koli fishmonger,her sari tucked between her legs her pomfrets in her basket flashing silver praise for the downpourwhile she fears for her husband. The shore is jet and foam, the black-skinned basalt swollenpeople breaking on the tide of monsoon funerals the church bells tollingdeath and…
Three Poems by Sayan Aich Bhowmik
In Her Sleep Your shirt buttonsIn my handsTurn like the planets.Around themA ring ofAll my evening skies.I can only see thingsThrough cracked window panes.The rains wait for meBy blinking traffic lightsAnd have left the carsWaiting for the policeTo rescue them from the flood.In your cityThey auction off summer eveningsAt the behest of thoseWho gaze at…
TWI Women’s Day 2021 Contest Winners
Thanks to all who submitted their pieces for TWI’s Women’s Day 2021 Contest. We enjoyed reading all your work, and we are so appreciative that you chose to participate and send your poems to us. Here are our 5 winners and their winning poems, in no particular order. Mansi Vijay – “A lease“ lessor/lɛˈsɔ ː…
TWI Poetry : Untitled, I see you
Two poems by Sarika Jaswani Untitled Beneath a black-eye& bruises blue Behind bigotry of liesA funnel for truth Nectar that capturesHearts of all Like North Star guidingUs thru A hope promising a betterTomorrow Fighting a beast in humanityHiding in quilt of desires Mercy of moment sailing usFrom one breath to the next. I see you…
TWI Poetry : I have no mirror at home
A poem by Swarnim I Have No Mirror At Home I have no mirror at home. But I do. Listen, listen. I never wished for so many mirrors to spring out oneun/fortunate afternoon when I violated the colors ofmy face — my otherwise etiolated, gendered, obscene face — now I only see mirrors,some so tiny…
TWI Poetry : Afternoon Tea in Tombach
A poem by Jan Ball Afternoon Tea in Tombach The brutal red of the tea gardenroses: I want to shield my eyes from them, perhaps the effect of too much caffeinated Earl Grey tea and Black Forest Cakein the Bavarian sun. The vivid pink Queen Elizabeth roses I cultivated in my Brisbanegarden, how I sliced the stemsof two dozen…
The Woman Inc. 