How are you, Afroz?
In the sickening cacophony of the twice-dwelled seclusion of your life?
Do you still find the last few drops of congealed blood underneath the aerodrome?
The land which smelled of the blissful coriandered soil, the air that had an aura of peppermint-clove kisses of yours?
Afroz? How are you amidst the din of city-light tied with an ambush called ‘love’?
The gilded horse-drawn carriage that bemoans the fantastic fate of the futile fairy hovering over Victoria’s memorial,
Gurgling the last traces of eternity through an interim vein of the city…
Kolkata calls you Afroz? Does Kolkata kill you? Does your pocket contain the fast-paced bombshell that manifestoed relentless love?
Afroz, in the blind alleys and the ashpit-laden stables of the city, does the winter evening still unbuttons your shirt to engrave the wrathful act of love?
Do I still love you Afroz? Your stubbly mornings in my navel, your sunshine bruise on my thighs?
Afroz? Can you still hear the pulsating organ under the bralette?
The regent rising to the lost flamingos in the tethered sky,
Nethering to temperament, a shift to the core, of the ellipsis called ‘love’?
Love it was, Afroz, love it remains, in the cloistered embraces beneath the tattered tarmac of the body,
The dissipated love still remains,
With Andromeda singing to the tunes of the pipe organ,
As the days pass on,
Mourning, bellowing, wrenching
For the departed
Afroz!
Sreetanwi Chakraborty is an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator (B.A. English) in Amity Institute of English Studies and Research, Amity University Kolkata. She graduated from Presidency College Kolkata, did her Postgraduation from the University of Calcutta, and obtained her M.Phil from Rabindra Bharati University on The Sleeping Beauty Wakes Up: A Feminist Interpretation of Fairy Tales. The book was published in 2019, and it received the Rising Star Award for non-fiction category at New Town Book Fair, Kolkata. At present she is pursuing her Ph.D from Ranchi University. She is the editor of a bilingual biannual journal Litinfinite, with more than 10 indexing of international repute. Her poems and literary articles have been published in Bengali and notable English journals and magazines, including Ekdin,Anandabazar Patrika,Uttarer Saradin, Orbachin, Setumag, The Darjeeling Chronicle, Darjeeling Times, The Daily Bhorer Alo (Bangladesh), Muse India, Kochi Post, Sanghamitra, Masik Kavitapatra, Abhiyatri (Bangladesh), Somodhara (Bangladesh), Sambad Samayiki (Bangladesh), Abhiyatri, , Kourob, Kavya Bharati, Aswamegh, the Bombay Literary Review, Langlit, Asian Cha and many more. She has been the recipient of the Charuchandra Ghosh Memorial Award for securing the highest marks from Calcutta University. Her research articles have been published in multiple UGC accredited journals. She has presented papers in several national and international seminars, and participated in workshops. Her areas of interest include Indian English poetry, Indian English drama, Feminism and cultural politics, and South Asian Diasporic Studies. She also has her own theatre group Natyakalpo which has been presenting stage plays and radio drama since January 2018. She has passed 5th year in Rabindra Sangeet, with distinction and 4th year in classical music from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad. She is a trained painter in oil, water colour and ink.
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“Nethering to temperament, a shift to the core, of the ellipsis called ‘love’?
Love it was, Afroz, love it remains, in the cloistered embraces beneath the tattered tarmac of the body,
The dissipated love still remains”
Yes, love it remains….lovely poem, keep writing, and try to play with the word of love because it can spread faster than fire……