Published January 15th, 2025
India Poetry Contest #2 – First Place
by Shelly Narang
I miss you – your glittering life
and marcasite eyes,
Where I am now, it's all made of nylon,
smelling of talcum powder and envy,
maudlin curtains and stockings,
serrated bed covers,
rooms denuded from pleasure.
The day softens,
the whole day, now that I hold
it up in the cracked light
of the windows, is legendary
and alone, making its way in haste
to the scene by the water.
If I remove one of the pieces
where the shoreline of a face
is unfolding like crimson branches.
My green swimsuit glowing –
Evanescent and sylvan –
You might still be here
distant and unattainable.
There are some people who leave
imprints not detected too early,
but like the ripples of an oar over water
the spheres of which widen everyday.
How everything is entirely unknowable
until ripped from the earth.
Spit back, sometimes swallowed
I'm tired for trying to breathe life
into the imaginary dead past
and the memories of the future.
In between these fingers
rolls a furtive cigarette
ready to flame the green swimsuit
while I row with an oar
my unmapped boat floundering,
claiming neither the past nor the future.
About the Poet
Shelly Narang resides in Chandigarh, India.
Read the poet's biography on Shelly Narang's Artist Page.
This poem is also featured in Wax Poetry and Art Magazine #6,
published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library.
Previously published in India Poetry Magazine:
To NJP
by Shamik Banerjee
India Poetry Magazine is part of the Wax Poetry and Art Network.
- Visit the main Wax Poetry and Art Submissions Page to see all opportunities.
- Visit the Wax Poetry and Art Library.
- This website and all contents ©Kirk Ramdath and specified artists.
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