Poems by Sukrita Paul Kumar 

Char Chinar 
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Grey clouds swallow
the white-robed mountains
the four chinars on the little island
are whirling dervishes
singing their swan song
and collapsing in a heap
their ghosts rise to home in the fog
and shower their blessings
 
              I float lost on the lake
              in search of
the absent foursome
 
 
Chashme Shahi 
 
Are these cumulated tears of joy
 
             springing straight
                           from the pulsating heart
                                         of the mountain
 
deep blind wells
lazing in the lows
amid the highs
 
lukewarm in winter
peppermint cool in summer
 
Manna from the heavens
said the Moghul
 
Drink and be young always
Listen to the cautious call of the mountain
 
I hear explosions instead
            see the rocks rupturing
 
rivers of vipers and snails gushing
             out of the cracked earth
 
eternally making space for
             tunnels, trucks and trains
             which carry us
             to smart cities
 
Alongside the myth of eternal youth
Chashme Shahi lies abandoned

A poet, critic and artist, Sukrita Paul Kumar (born in Kenya) has published several collections of poems, translations and critical books. Her most recent collections of poems are Salt & Pepper, Vanishing Words and Dream Catcher. An invited poet at the International Writing Programme (IOWA, USA) and a poet-in-residence in Hong Kong, she is a former Fellow of IIAS, Shimla. A recipient of many fellowships and residencies, she held the prestigious Aruna Asaf Ali Chair at the University of Delhi. Currently she is the guest editor of the journal Indian Literature and co-editor of the “Writer in Context” series of volumes, published by Routledge UK. 
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