Two Poems by Anisha Kaul

 

In Search of A Lost Home 

While dusting the upper shelves of the spare room

I reach out for something forgotten 

Amidst thin curtains of settling dust    

Eager eyes peek about unfamiliar shadows 

Empty-handed, I retrieve 

 

Outside, autumn leaves noiselessly leaving their seasoned abodes 

Triggers a shared memory of that dawn when we left home

Each shrouded in a warm blanket of silence and fear 

In the corner, granny’s large metal trunk breathes easily

Its content still carrying her soothing touch 

There, I continue my search for home

Her folk songs, witty tales, and even simple childhood games 

All preserved therein. 

At the crossroads of a linguistic turn, I had met her 

Where she in her imperfect Hindi, narrated home to me and 

I in my broken Koshur asked for more 

Suddenly, I catch a rumor buzzing around, they say 

Those born in exile have troubled souls 

An affirmative sigh escapes the shattered window 

To my unborn children, I leave the vintage trunk along with 

A tattered postcard directing them to an unvisited address and 

The legacy of our lost home  

 

She is the Rapunzel They Want to See

Morning and night she brushes her golden tresses

Softly strand by strand 

Swaying rhythmically as she works her way through

The tangled knots

She knows that the day is soon to be

When the cape will smilingly resurface 

Spreading across her shoulders 

Asking for the holy treasure

The dawn set in with utmost commotion 

Gentle Rapunzel keeps to her armchair 

Snip and snip, the shiny edges meet 

All eye the falling inches 

Now lighter, our blessed creature beams at her looking glass   

Then, in glittery paper, she wraps the locks tenderly 

Signs them off with love and kisses 

For a little Rapunzel who lost hers to Alopecia

___

Anisha Kaul is a poet with a Master’s in English Literature, presently living in New Delhi, India. Her work is forthcoming or has appeared in Cardigan Press, Ink Drinkers Poetry, Ethel Zine, Splintered Disorder Press, Fevers of the Mind, From the Farther Trees, and Analogies & Allegories Literary Magazine, among others. She is on Twitter @anishakaul9