The Hawker

By  Anu Gupta

They came in a jeep,
Demolished the little shop,
At the corner of the road
They didn’t even stop,
To see the havoc they wrecked;
It didn’t affect
Them in anyway-
Justice is here to stay!
But is this justice really?
I loved the shop dearly;
Tiny and homely,
It was her life’s earnings,
Invested in the shop.
That is why I stop,
To ponder,
Should it be done,
Doesn’t the road belong to everyone?
(I understand the ‘law’)
So if it does not,
Is there a better way-
Than people left bereft?
Left to rot?
What alternative did we provide?
What else did we help them decide?
Is it worth it?
Where is it writ,
That this is justice;
Whose justice is it? ■

Separation

By  Sagarika Jaganathan

The pain and sting of it
Like a thousand needles
Piercing the heart

All at once
The fangs of a viper

In an icy grip
Spewing sweet poison...

Every vein
A candle-wick

Lit brightly
By love's undying flame
Blood coursing madly
Fueling every living cell
With the breath of desire...

Raw heat
Burning passions
Stifled sensations
Muffled heartbeats
Stretched moments
Of abject nothingness
An infinite extension...
Time...
It chafes the heart
A painful erosion.
Bittersweet
Lingering
Cruel
Separation...■

Who needs words...??

By Sagarika Jaganathan

The talking eyes
Darting
Spewing volumes
Of love-lore
In one fleeting glance
Leaflets inscribed
In quill
Ancient pens
Old as renaissance
The age of romance
Da Vinci, Michelangelo
Older…Predating evolution
Even the big bang
When the entire universe
Was just a pair
Of darting
Talking eyes
Spewing love... ■