You don’t see me?

I am here!

I am here!

You don’t seem to listen?

You don’t see what I wear!

You don’t see me?

I am here!

On my way,

I met a shivering stick.

Frailty marshalled in an old rebel.

On my way,

I met a blind wheelchair.

I saw more blindness around it.

On my way,

the conch shell waved

in my ears…

Those waves travelled through

my throat, my chest,

to my stomach.

You don’t see me?

You don’t hear me?

Forgive my audacity!

But, I want to ask…

My thin voice lingers and disappears

into the sand

of leisurely slithering vacuum;

I try to run.

My extremities do not reach…

The western-most, the eastern-most...

Ugh…

and, there’s no one in the glass!

I hold the mirror.

I often sang those to you

I often sang those to you…

Fissures and faults on the sides of the wall,

and the pillars tall,

alongside the mountain vault

protrude

the smell.

The burial and the ashes

have seen the ceremonious nights -

as the sturdy raindrops

pit-pat,

pit-pat…

Songs.

Stories.

Memories.

I often sang those to you…

Soft fire binds the hard threads

but, embers know no rites.

Burnt. Rusted. Broken.

Flames burn the musical notes.

The ancient rock is a witness.

And…

and, the moon sank into waters

without a word.

Life song reaches a gradual halt.

Blazing high,

they swirl and swathe around the rock.

The plough is rusted.

The rock has garnered

wet moss.

Feet have crossed seas,

and worn crimson beads.

Yet, eyes can’t see the distant mead –

the archer’s arrow couldn’t split apart

the crawling darkness.

Flames across the window bars

won’t stop.

Rusted ploughs die;

charred music

rains carbon.

Broken homes,

expired balms

do not heal.

Dr Shweta Mishra ‘shawryaa’ is Associate Professor in the Department of English at

Maharaja Bijli Pasi Government P.G. College, Lucknow, India. A gold medalist in M.A.

In English, she has authored several research papers and edited three books. Creative writing

is what she passionately loves to do. Her notable works include What is a Woman, The

Most Orange, and Lucknow Imprints. Her poems have been published in Kavya Bharati

and Muse India. Internationally, she contributes her poems in the Australasian Center for

Human Rights and Health (ACHRH) Newsletter, Melbourne, Australia.