Three Poems

Three Poems by Chitrangada Lahiri, Kalpna Singh-Chitnis & Nivedita Rao

Beyond the Scars

by Chitrangada Lahiri 

“You are so pretty.”

She smiled, eyes depicting another story….

Old facial scars, carefully  concealed.

Slashes on her wrists, under full sleeves.

A broken nose, long mended.

Burn marks, underneath the dresses.

Reminder of every slap, punch and kick.

Added expletives, in her vocabulary.

Years of abuse, and things gory.

All the misery and every pain.

Endless humiliation, degradation and disdain.

Remembrance of a past awry and bleak.

Mind conjuring, forgotten images.

Unbearable violence, broken promises,

Heart bleeding, internal damages.

Conflicting emotions, dark blemishes .

Reminiscence of tears, cries and shriek.

“You are so pretty.” She smiled, mended soul portraying history.

ER

by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis

My case wasn’t serious,

so I waited in the lobby of the ER 

for my turn to come.

The patients needed to have patience,

except those who showed severe symptoms

like fever, cough, nausea, and fits. 

But I didn’t vomit. My temperature remained stable.

And I was able to hold the ground,

like a tree standing in a storm.

I did not show any cuts and bruises.

I did not bleed or collapse, 

as some others did

and were rushed into rooms,

where the doctors were ready to diagnose

and treat them immediately.

I just had some internal injuries, no one knew.

I bled inside. I died in front of everyone,

without anyone noticing me.

A rough draft of an assault 

by Nivedita Rao

Lack of sugar or salt 

Lead to weekly assault 

A kick here. A kick there. 

The footprints of his thunder 

Everynight, landed on her threshold 

None could bear the sight it behold 

*

He never picked up the plate

Dried. Smeared with remnants. 

He would sit by the sofa, hold it

Like a trophy and wait 

Questioning, a hard slap landed on the face;

Names were called: Shameless. A disgrace. 

*

She ripped her blouse 

And blamed him; 

Pelted stones on his house 

Her incendiary remarks 

And a lifelong scar 

were his commitment’s rewards