Amrita Sharma
1.
For Omnia Vincit Amor
Before the spring ends this year,
I intended to confess my love to him.
As April appears again,
I wonder if you could be mine ever,
Unlike Radha, I cannot be your beloved
Unlike Aurora, I can never get you the immortal boon
But you never take these names as we talk.
As a new year begins this month,
I wonder if I could be yours ever,
Unlike Sita, I cannot tie my life to one
Unlike Helen, I cannot bring you to an end
But you never mention these names as you write.
As past reverts and present unfolds,
These names turn and enclose each knot,
I strive to fetch you against my will,
But you remain unmoved by each.
As summer begins in India and shall soon drift by,
I shall perhaps confess my love to him next spring.
Radha- A milkmaid who is described as the beloved and chief consort of God Krishna in the
Hindu epic Mahabharata.
Aurora- The Goddess of Dawn in Roman mythology who had a mortal lover named
Tithonus for whom she asked Jupiter for the boon of immortality but forgot to ask for
immortal youth.
Sita- One of the central figures in the Hindu epic Ramayana who is the wife of God Rama
and is worshipped as an ideal wife.
Helen- In Greek mythology, Helen is the most beautiful woman in the world whose
abduction by Paris leads to the Trojan War.
2.
A Rational Stance
We were told of castles and walls lined with men,
Of passages that held an effervescent charm,
Of gatherings that offered fuel to breaths,
Edged along a reverend hand.
We were told of souls that were guarding men,
Of leaders who shall rise beyond each fire,
Of revolutions that shall lead to coinages that last,
Placed in a book with an ancient lock.
We were told of cheers that were destined to transpire,
Of eternal rules and inexhaustible laws,
Of rains that pour irrespective of seasons,
With a toolbox always held out for all.
Between untold truths and familiar lies,
A layman bridged a passage to nowhere,
With cosmic laws over a No Man’s land,
Our stories now turn to a rational stance.
Amrita Sharma is a Lucknow based writer currently pursuing her Ph.D. in English from the University of Lucknow. Her works have previously been published in Earth, Fire, Water, Wind: An Anthology of Poems, Café Dissensus Everyday, Literary Yard, Trouvaille Review, Confluence: South Asian Perspectives, Women’s Web, Borderless, , Tell Me Your Story, Muse India, Rhetorica Quarterly, , New Academia, GNOSIS, Dialogue, The Criterion, Episteme and Ashvamegh. Her area of research includes avant-garde poetics and innovative writings in the cyber space.
