Poetry

                                         Poems by Mamta Sagar
Translated by Chitra Panikkar with the poet

Hide and Seek

A leaf from the tree
gliding
sliding
swinging
a kite caressing the wind
a boat on the river
with colourful fish
yellow and green flash on the shining water
moves quickly
disappearing with the flow
water doesn't know
air doesn't know
tree doesn't know
fish doesn't know
this game of hide and seek.

                                         Poems by Mamta Sagar
Translated by Chitra Panikkar with the poet

A River Poem

Inside the river are the sky,
the cloud, the sun.
cupped in my hands the
river.
If I throw up my hands,
the river spills in drops,
scattering
sky, cloud, and sun all over
me.
If I drink the river from my
hands
then within me are
the sun, the cloud, the sky.
Tell me then, who is in
whom?

                                        Poems by Mamta Sagar
Translated by Chitra Panikkar with the poet

Mother and Me

I'm exactly like my mother
-- thin body, bony fingers,
dark circles below the eyes;
within, a heavy heart
loaded with cares; a mind
beset with thoughts it can't
quite carry; and on the surface,
a smooth smile.
I'm like my mother exactly;
her tears flow in my eyes

                                            Poem by Pushpa Achanta

Survivors

When I remember them
I just cry
Sometimes silently
Or inside of me
Sometimes I heave,
And at others, I sigh

Hey this is about them
The girl, lady, boy, gent or transperson
Who are preyed on by the beastly
How do they endure something so ghastly

Alas! Some do not live to recall their horror
But do we listen to those who do?
Speak out and stand up for them
Hold them tight, dry their tears
Lessen their pain and their fears?

They are everywhere
These honourable survivors
Braving their scars
If we do not reach out
We are as inhuman
As those who assault them!

The Rapist

Who is he?
Can it be a she?
Or other gender?

What provokes the creature
To assault a human
Who is familiar
But hardly expects
Such violence?

Bravo darling sister
Kudos dear brother
Who triumph over
The devils within and without!

Beasts

Disturbed, distressed, disgusted
Is how I feel
My stomach churns
The body shivers
I am nauseous
With vivid memories
When I read or hear
Of sexual predators

Do they feel like me?
Those who are touched
poked, groped, violated
Whistled, stared or laughed Chased or simply followed?

Many are the ways
In which the weak
hurt the meek
What must we seek
Escape, respite, justice
Or freedom, joy and peace?

The weak here imply the frickin' twisted assaulters!

Poem by Pushpa Achanta

A PROMISE

For the pain you bore
Silently we weep
For the clothes they tore
When watch we didn't keep

Dear beloved, friend, sister

When your skin broke
You perhaps did choke
When your body hurt
Under your shirt, pant or skirt
You probably cried and cried
Until you died

Dear companion, comrade, co-traveller

We won't be silent
We can't be content
We'll rise hand in hand
Until they understand
Girls, Women and Others

Come clad me in Peace

Poem by Maya Angelou

Come, Clad in peace and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I and the
Tree and the stone were one.

Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your
Brow and when you yet knew you still
Knew nothing.

The River sings and sings on.

There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing River and the wise Rock.

… The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the Teacher.
They hear. They all hear
The speaking of the Tree.

Today, the first and last of every Tree
Speaks to humankind.

For No Reason At All

Poem by Hafiz

Rendered by Corinne Kumar

for no reason at all

I start to skip like a child

for no reason at all

I start to dance like a child

for no reason at all

I turn into a leaf

that the wind carries high, so high

that I can touch the sun, kiss the sun

for no reason at all

I begin to dance like a child

for no reason at all

a thousand song birds

make of my head a conference table,

passing their song books along with

cups of wine, cups of tea!

for no reason at all

I begin to dance like a child

but

for every reason in the world

for every reason in existence

I love eternally,unconditionally

I am a rabid optimist

Poem by Satinath Saarangi

Yes!

I am a rabid optimist.
For me,
Every tree that continues to stand,
Every stream that continues to flow,
Every child that runs away from home,
As an indication
That the battle
Is not only on,
It is being won.

Possibly you will tell me
About the nuclear arms race.
And all I can tell you is that
An unknown child
held my hand with love.

You will try to draw me
Into the plateau of practical life,
Tell me
That not only god but all the
Religious and irreligious leaders
Are dead.
And all I can tell you is that
Across the forest
Lives a young man
Who calls the earth his mother.

You will give me
The boring details of the rise of state power
After every revolution.
And all I can tell you
Is that
In our tribe
We still share our bread.

You will reason with me
And I will talk nonsense like this,
And because the difference between reason and poetry
Is the difference between breathing and living life,
I will read poems to you.
Poems full of optimism,
Poems full of dreams,
Maybe poems better than this.