Unclaimed

By Gopal Lahiri

I want to hear the music of summer.

A music of yesteryears that is unadorned

and gruff, the notes in line with the blazing

morning sun, notes that feel stripped away.

 

A reminder to the defrost the cloud filled

memories that swell and shrink with the

supple lyrics, a street tell-tales survivor story

around and around in an infinite loop.

 

A puddle is about to be desiccated, a siren that

goes silent for years, a shifting sky above

knows the fears of outrunning shadows,

of those who always claiming me as theirs.

 

In summer, I dream of a tall house with

empty windows, the gardens set pattern

of dry flowers and trees, a dream that meanders

into my memory that will inhabit later.

 

Music is always the wave that soars and heal,

that washes everything except my voice.

 

Gopal Lahiri is a bilingual poet, critic, editor, and translator with 31 books published, including eight solo/jointly edited books. His works are published across more than 150 journals and anthologies. His poems are translated in 18 languages. He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize for poetry in 2021. He has received Setu Excellence Award, Pittsburgh, US, in poetry in 2020. He has been conferred First Jayanta Mahapatra National Award on literature in 2024 for his significant contribution in Indian English Writing. First Prize Winner in Poetry Contest organised by 43rd World Congress of Poets in 2024.

Subscribe to our newsletter To Recieve Updates

    The Latest
    • The Magic of Memory

      Transform memories into essays through prompts, writing sprints, and craft

    • Caste on the Couch

      Caste, trauma, and mental health: inherited wounds of silence

    • We Are Here : Writings by Afghan Women

      Afghan women write of silenced voices, daily struggles, and unbroken hope

    • Nightmare with Open Eyes

      An Afghan woman’s daily life, fear, and resilience under Taliban rule

    You May Also Like
    • Hello Yama By Aneeta Sundararaj

      Based on Actual Events Every year, individuals and communities are affected

    • “Old Woman Komboothi”, a short story by Ra Azhagarasami, translated from the Tamil by Padma Narayanan

      Old woman Komboothi was probably over seventy years old Among all the people her