All It Took Was A Sunbird by Rachit Sharma
As a child, I was surrounded by my father’s cartons of colours,
there were bright crayons, like tiny boulders of odd shapes
discarded sketch pens, with lost caps,
ones that lost all their light and turned into silent moons.
The orange crayon that came in slightly different shades based on its brand, was my most favourite
red was too deep, yellow too bright. orange was enough – ruminative yet stood out,
we filled a hundred splendid suns together
supplied it to corners where there wasn’t enough colour
on edges, and outside the lines…
over the years, the orange crayon kept visiting me – as an elusive joy
sometimes as the hue of sunset settled on a lover’s lower lip,
sometimes as a stranger’s touch that felt warm and safe
every time I trusted a friend, every time I was trusted..
it appeared in my ears as music, and trickled down my eyes,
it peaked at the beginning of every affair, and remained in some,
it appeared every night, right before crossing the threshold of sleep
the other morning a sunbird paid us a visit, marched around like a Queen’s guard,
and screamed at a puddle of water in joy.
It was all that took to remind me that I never lost it,
Misplaced it perhaps.
Unlearning by Ila Railkar
The day I realized
That my revered, infallible father
Made blunders for which he never apologized,
The illusion of innocence
Shattered forever
And
Though terrified of this strange wisdom
I knew there was no
Unlearning.
Rachit Sharma designs and facilitates immersive leadership programs for young people in India. He has been engaged with a number of social causes. Currently, he resides in Meerut.
Ila Railkar is an Indian poet. She has been published or is forthcoming in Indian Periodical, Indian Review, The Alipore Post, Blue River Review, One Sentence Poems, Madras Courier, and Moss Puppy Magazine.
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