You matter to them
by Gopal Lahiri / April 7th, 2024
there is a whisper in the rose bushes
you open the door, come outside,
an American robin sits on the flower pot,
wings open and stares at you,
breathes with deep open eyes,
she does not know you are black,
winds fall down your curly hair,
new grass opens their eyes,
behind the juniper and pine trees,
other robins shuffle across the skyline,
no matter your skin colour,
no matter your gender,
you matter to them,
daisies and hibiscus are in bloom,
invite you to the backyard,
you carry light from the womb of petrichor,
who in you matters,
your heart is pounding,
you want to touch the sky.
Gopal Lahiri is a bilingual poet, critic, editor, writer and translator with 29 books published, including eight solo/jointly edited books. His poetry and prose are published across more than seventy journals and anthologies globally. His poems are translated in 16 languages. He has been nominated for Pushcart Prize for poetry in 2021. He has received Setu Excellence Award, Pittsburgh, US, in poetry. He is the first recipient of. Jayanta Mahapatra National Award for Literature, 2024.
Read other articles by Gopal.
This article was posted on Sunday, April 7th, 2024 at 8:03am and is filed under Poetry.
