*Won the first Prize in the Unisun British Council Poetry competition, 2006. (published by Unisun, Bangalore in Winners)
Father left us when we were children,
betraying our innocence
which, mother claimed,
trickled down our faces
like milk.
He left us each other -
two brothers and three sisters,
like so many Russian dolls,
our giggly yearnings
for rough play and stubble,
and blank spaces in five report cards
requesting “Father’s Signature”.
And then of course father left us mother,
with her soft saree
and taken for granted lap,
her voice cracking half-way through
that bed-time story about Ram and his monogamy.
Father left us a couple of unpaid debts
and this vacuum in my children’s lives
marked maternal grandfather.
About Me
- K.Srilata
- A poet and fiction writer, Srilata is currently foot-loose though not fancy-free. She is sabbaticaling away from IIT Madras. Her debut novel "Table for Four" , longlisted for the Man Asian literary prize has just been published by Penguin India. Writers Workshop, Kolkata recently brought out her second anthology of poems "Arriving Shortly".
Hello Ma'am
ReplyDeleteVery nice piece. The imagery of innocence trickling like milk was striking.
I have read the poem "Kamalamma" elsewhere and wanted to find out if you maintain a blog. Glad to stumble upon this.
By the way, I was in one of your classes. The basic English course for B.Techs I think.
Trinath