Teesta Review: A
Journal of Poetry, Volume 8, Number 2. November 2025. ISSN: 2581-7094
Empathy
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Chandana Rajbanshi
Darling,have
you ever seen dawn?
Or ever wake up early in the morning?
Have you ever heard the sweetest melody of the birds?
Or ever had any knowledge of how a gentle wind soothes
the soul?
Have you ever talked to the fish and duck during your
walk beside the lake?
Darling, have you ever seen the smoky hills?;
Or ever listened to the rhythm of the flowing
river?
Do you know how the trees danced with their heads
nodding?
Or how the clouds made a zigzag road in the sky like a
graphic art for exhibition?
Or how the fragrance of flowers and colours of the
ripened fruits hypnotise the travellers?
Darling, do you know how monkeys hold their kids?
Or how a cow serves humanity and a cat’s search for cordiality?
Or how the foxes sing their chorus song of love and
life in the evening?
Or how the elephants march through the dense forest
for their right to live life?
Do you know the narratives of unity, equality, and
fraternity of deer, sheep, goats, and dogs?
Darling, perhaps you keep yourself in a room with air
conditioning,
Or perhaps you drive your branded car, pockets full of
materialistic greed,
Or perhaps you feed your stomach with the dead bodies
of those precious species,
Maybe you cut the trees to build your luxurious
palace, swimming pool, and homestay,
Or perhaps you break the mountain and hill for power
and profit, and pollute the sacred river.
Darling, I mourn when I can no longer hear the music
of birds,
When I can no longer feel the presence of my beloved
wild friends,
I long for, but I can no longer smell the aroma of the
colourful wild flowers,
I empathise when I see the unnatural death of the
animals on your decorated dining plate,
As far as my eyes can see, ears can hear, and heart
can feel their screaming—let us live in peace!
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Bio:
Chandana Rajbanshi is a doctoral research scholar at the Department of
Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology Silchar,
Assam, India. Her area of research interest includes Environmental Humanities,
Environmental Justice, and Sustainability, among others.
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