In the evening, I watch dark meandering river,
the twilight shadow crosses like arrows of rain,
It is a half-moon, the siren is too far to hear,
the river is dreary, and the coast is not nearby.
My father always told- don’t expect much from me.
He hung Balinese musk on the wall,
I also saw him cried before my mother’s photo,
it was like her presence woven through the years.
Salt air gathers at the corners of his room,
the earth is silent amid lilting strings
I cannot dissect the sad song lyrics,
but his deep voice ripples out to the balcony.
Words are like windows, they set me free,
I want to cruise tonight to the land of light.
.
Gopal Lahiri
@gopallahiri
Picture by M.Lesser & N. Victor
Gopal Lahiri is a bilingual poet, critic, editor, writer and translator with 31 books published, including eight solo/jointly edited books. His poetry and prose are published across more than one hundred journals and anthologies globally His poems are translated in 18 languages and published in 19 countries. He has been nominated for Pushcart Prize for poetry in 2021.
.