This year my burst of spring cleaning
left life’s cupboards bare
shells, letters, squat silences
dry flowers, leaves
your promises and yes, the hunger
were all forced to flee
dark moments that clung to dresses
purses, crumpled bills,
paper napkins, gifts and fantasies
were uprooted and mercilessly sunned
sounds were dealt with brutally
the cuckoo’s call with which
we sweetened our teas
was scrubbed from tea cups
the chatter of books
from where you quoted and misquoted
was chased from the shelves
into a silence of neat descending order
All images, imprints and touches
met the soft duster cloth
it wiped away the softness
sponged away the acid
hardened the heart
and made way for saccharine
the mirror was hardest to clean
for it had reflections
that wouldn’t settle…
they flitted away
before they could be erased
Vinita Agrawal was born in the desert city of Bikaner in North-West India in 1965. She is a writer, researcher and poet and has been published in print magazines, journals and online. She has been a part of a few international spoken-word events. She is inspired by the Buddha and by the great Himalayan Mountains. She feels her spirit is set free when in the monsoons. She lives with her husband in New Delhi and has a college-going son. She can be reached at vinitaagrawal18@yahoo.co.in
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6 Responses to “CLEAN • by Vinita Agrawal”
Comments
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February 18th, 2012 at 8:15 am
Lovely. 5 stars from me.
February 18th, 2012 at 7:48 pm
So immediate and vibrant. Great poem!
February 20th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
Very deep, touching! Thank you Vinita! I loved the subtle analogies. The pathos is acute, it needs the wings of hope to lift it from the gloom and fly it to the world of endless joy.
February 21st, 2012 at 10:49 pm
Thank you, Carol for the five stars!! Andrea for the appreciation and Balaka for the generous comments and insight!
February 22nd, 2012 at 1:19 pm
Really lovely.
February 28th, 2012 at 11:32 pm
Thank you Marion!