Jacinta’s Poem
by Ananya S. Guha / June 12th, 2016
Today I read Jacinta Kerketta’s poems
a tribal lady in India’s Jharkhand
wrung into anger, despair
as a community bereft of love
used by corporate houses
for illegal mining, youth taking
to arms and rebellion.
Arrogance, contempt for people
is lust. Jecinta writes of the fear
of a people, rage, their privacy
innards shaken, when wealth
attacks people yet to read books
or throw away a gentry.
Mining. Mining.
Wealth, health.
Exploit them to the hilt
they will be crucible of fire.
What angst, what pity?
Reading Jacinta’s poems I think
history is mad, society rabid.
Mother works in a house, is treated
with contempt. Mother goes to the
house, waits till the husband takes
his meal.
India is strange. They tell me
there are many Jacinta’s.
I found one.
Today.
Jacinta’s poem, horrendous,
raking, but truthful all the same.
Ananya S Guha lives in Shillong in North East India, where he was born and brought up. He has been writing and publishing his poetry for the last forty years. His poetry has been published in both electronic and print formats such as: Indian Literature, Other Voices, Osprey Journal, Glasgow Review, The Literary Nest, Up The Staircase, Asia Writes, Art Arena, Praxis Online, Muse India, Your One Phone Call, In Between Hangovers, The Peeking Cat Magazine, Post Colonial Text among others. He has also written widely on educational and social matters. He has ten collections of poetry and his poetry has been anthologized in various collections of Indian poetry in English. He holds a doctoral on the novels of William Golding.
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This article was posted on Sunday, June 12th, 2016 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.
