Nothing is Missing
Arranged beauty, a vanishing self. Silent guns in the corner reveal an…
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From Matchbox
Matchbox – May ’26
City Without Water
War's end brings desert thirst, strange milk rites. A bloody kiss ignites visceral, explosive transformation.
May 28, 2026
The war has ended,
but there is no water in my desert city—
everyone carries milk in clay pots for the gods.
The thick syrupy scent arouses me
filling my body with strange cravings,
as if I have arrived somewhere unfamiliar
perhaps hostile.
Everything after war feels like intoxication.
like a steamy religious procession.
“Is this real or fictional?” I ask.
she does not answer
I stammer again—she knows
I have difficulty with speech.
She says, “let me save you from your thirst”.
I kiss her thick bleeding lips,
and suddenly I begin to explode like fat watermelons.
📖
PART OF A COLLECTIONThe Night, a Naked Knife and 4 other poems
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Ashwani Kumar
Ashwani Kumar is a poet, political scientist, and professor whose work has been widely published, anthologized, and translated into several languages. His poetry collections include My Grandfather’s Imaginary Typewriter, Banaras and Other Poems, and Map of Memories, and he is also the author of the acclaimed non-fiction work Community Warriors. He has edited major poetry anthologies, including Rivers Going Home, Scent of Rain, and River of Songs, co-founded the Indian Novels Collective, and edits the Hummingbirds Poetry Series in partnership with Red River. He was also a chief editor of Global Civil Society at the London School of Economics. He has held visiting appointments at leading international institutions, including Heidelberg University, the Korea Development Institute (KDI), and the German Development Institute (DIE). He also writes for publications such as The Indian Express, The Hindu, Financial Express, Outlook India, Scroll, and The Print. He lives in Mukteshwar and Mumbai.