Mrudula Kuvalekar
today i felt small / a giant
inside a giant / inside
another
aching
giant / a body
of touch-me-nots / a body
of eyes
everywhere / a body
that lives inside / a body
tied / with ropes thick
enough to cut / a body
tangled / a body
woven from rapunzel hair
too short / to reach / the ground
it cries
for its mother /
has left /
and it is late / and the train
is long gone / the station
drips with left / over rain / too soft
to touch /
it cries
for today / the body
felt small / a child
seeking asylum
from itself / a child
holding / the body
a hostage / a child
wailing / its mother
long gone / it cries
the war is over /
but the noose / still sways
in the wind / waiting
for the child / waiting
for the mother /
to come home.
This work has been published in Beetle Magazine's July 2020 Issue
Illustration by Dhanashree Pimputkar