‘Sickness is just an emotion’ – Two poems by Jyothsnaphanija
Photo: Karan Madhok
‘Vermicelli sweetness / Tercet of longing / A film screen / Colour with no plurality’
Yellow
One shade of yellow I know
Which traps,
The smell is disturbing.
Having wires like shelter.
Every day in the milk
Turmeric at the bottom of the glass
Sickness is just an emotion.
Yellow leaves of an ice-cream cup of free years
Vermicelli sweetness
Tercet of longing
A film screen
Colour with no plurality
Shaped like steps in an old forgotten well
This much of yellowness
For post positioning
Language of font-obsessed.
*
How they make a kite in my village
They write poetry
on the other side of the newspaper.
Sticky rice they use
Instead of glue
They memorise some tables, some formulas
While ascending.
In return they sing about parrots beaten by mothers.
They know how to intervene
Sometimes palmate
Trivial conversations.
Letter E
Is much artistic.
Threads carry excitement, papers hold temporality.
Kites won’t go so far,
They know very well.
***
Jyothsnaphanija is an Assistant Professor of English at ARSD College, University of Delhi, India. She authored the poetry collection Ceramic Evening (2016). She writes short stories, literary essays, and is interested in Translation Studies. She can be reached at jyothsnaphanija@gmail.com and on Instagram: @jyothsnaphanija
