Ananya S Guha
Stoking the fire
Catapulting into dark
Embers glow
Winds blow
Stalking my dreams
Is a hyacinth woman,
Walking my dreams
Is a mad lust, perforating
The mind is a blackish devil;
All in the wind’s blow
Of cacophonous jackals
And mad wolves
Even sharks eat fish
You were right Hemingway
For you fought the war
Four score years away
If you saw it now you wouldn’t
Say hello, for it to go
The 21st century has come to stay
With wars and bombs
Only a distance away
And Blake’s Lamb is out to be slaughtered
With a malfeasant Tyger, baying for blood
Unmask the Devil, hood wink the good
For this century has come to stay
In a barbed hood
With sabre-rattling jets,
Only a distance away…
(Ananya S Guha is a renowned poet and academician who lives in Shillong)
Meghalaya echoes
Marbamonlang Rani
This ordinary pen and I,
on paper planes begin the flight;
u Putharo, shisong u Kwai,
should first acquaint your appetite.
We by the name of Khasi, sing.
We by the name of Garo, dance.
We by the name of Jaiñtia, dress;
three sisters in one holy land.
I, by my best poetic throat,
replay old lores that Khasi men
by oral wealth in time, denote:
Ramhah, u Klew, u Khla-u Thlen.
U Sier, a stag whose mother spoiled
till faced he death, where she forbade
his sporty feet, on godly hills;
one shot, he then was lifeless made.
The monarch ordered in its name
that Raitong should on pyre die;
together in that blazing flame,
an ailing queen, untimely lie.
Of lovers’ unfairly fate,
his flute endures till present date.
Then of our warrior ‘Tirot Sing’,
the ruler fought in purity;
he lived and died a noble king,
though foes deceived their loyalty.
If all in pride and greatness I,
should burden on these pages more;
it is our matriarchal trait,
I boast of with the tales afore.
The larger crown to her belongs,
well-clothed under love and care,
the youngest female cub of all;
the queen of every Lion’s share.
The cleanest place, the heavy rain,
the faith of Christians, that of saints;
Ka Tungrymbai and U Sohphlang,
the Likai Falls or Wah Simsang
are wonders by design.
In Him, designer of it all,
we liberally confine.
And may He bless you overall,
as gently rests the nib;
while I, in humble Khasi tone,
extend my thanks, Khublei Shibun.
(Marbamonlang Rani is a poet based in Shillong and a familiar voice in Meghalaya’s literary scene)
