by Samyuktha Iyer, II B.A. English
the bomb begins with a blast
and ends with a decision
to set it off.
the trains roll back into the stations
and Hindus and Muslims
return back to wherever
they believed they belonged.
guns draw out pellets
from now unbroken flesh.
india begins in fascism and
ends in democracy.
a protesting crowd watches
the sun rise in the evening
and goes home unbroken.
machines shut down mid- grind
and coal mines fill with soil,
next monsoon’s
landslide forgets to turn up.
old age becomes hopeful.
youth, experienced, and when
they talk, people listen.
the prime minister unsigns all the
laws he’s passed and no one’s
afraid to walk the streets at night.
the rapist hangs at the noose
even before he reaches
for her kurta.
my sexuality unfolds
outside the closet and
resolves itself with an open lock.
the lord says let there
be darkness because we’ve
seen light and
it hasn’t really brought
us much good.
the universe contracts
one day, disappears into nothing
and takes us all with it.
would you change something now
if you knew how it would end?