a requiem

the sun is setting on her ocean grave / i imagine
a scarlet soul betraying itself to the water;
consecrated in death / as not / in life

her husband has etched / woodsmoke / into the lines
in his hands, i imagine it seeping from his pores
floating on his breath, the red-warring sindur-dusted
desire to burn / it all

her mother in white, like the seafoam / tail of her
dupatta clawing the water, untrimmed nails grating
the skin & / a sudden lucid nightmare of a pigeon butchered open then
thrown into the sea – (un)willingly

/
oh god do you know why she died?

alternatively.

oh god. do you know why men watch revolution with acid in their throats &
slaughter on their tongues &
fear
in their
eyes –

/

the day they eat meat again, her portrait in a flower-frame
her mother wilting / into the wall / a demon
crawling onto her shadow

papa says / it is a tragedy
but when he’s not listening, ma says / it’s a murder
sans mystery.

By Lakshmi Mitra

Biography:

Lakshmi Mitra is a 19 year old college student living in Kolkata who occasionally frustrates herself into a bout of writing. When not doing so, she can be found reading, studying, craving sleep, and complaining. She is mostly polite, a lousy conversationalist, and doesn’t like sudden movements. Therefore, it comes as a great surprise to her that her cats still don’t like her. She blogs at thiswinterheart.tumblr.com