Teesta Review: A Journal of Poetry, Volume 1, Number 2. November 2018. ISSN: 2581-7094
Shadowstreet
The rude day deluded us,
leading us to the bend
of shadowstreet, outrunning
the sun, the moon and the
chandeliers.
This is the lane where shadows
expand ad infinitum,
bringing in godawful darkness.
You can’t shake them off,
running breathless, craving
freedom.
Walking on, you see the
signposts disappear.
Batwings flutter under the
shelter of darkness.
Birds and mice are the sure
sacrifices here
for the soaring owl. Cradled by
the fist of darkness
gather the pullulating
scorpions. Fox-eyes blaze, searching for
bird-nests, and the leopard
licks unabashed its bloody paws.
Banished to this shadowstreet, we set up our tents here.
The question claws unrelenting
at our days:
will the fingers of fire ever
again
light up this world of
shadows, etch anew the path of life?