SNIGDHA AGRAWAL

 

 

On Certain Days

 

There will be days...

I’ll forget to turn off the tap

Leave the fridge door ajar

After taking out the yoghurt

The flame on the gas

might dance too long

beneath an empty pan,

The doorbell may go unanswered,

A sound I no longer hear

The way I used to.

And of the many more lapses,

That may happen the older I grow.

 

And there will be days...

When fingers will point

at me like verdicts.

For mishaps I never made

Coz the maid won’t own up

For the shattered teapot

Colours bleeding into clothes,

The maid loaded in a careless wash

Snack shelves showing gaps

I didn’t cause

Yet silence paints me guilty

Without a second thought

 

For every missing piece

Every break, every slip

They’ll look at me.

As though age is a crime,

forgetfulness, betrayal.

And all I’ll have

Are my fading recollections

to hold me still,

quietly aching for

understanding,

not blame.

 

Do They Even Care?

 

Against my wishes

I had to move in

assured of meeting

all my needs, of a life

of comfort and ease

and the company

of my grandchildren

My only reason to live

 

That was just a ruse

to ensure I signed

on the dotted line

before I happen

to lose my mind

 

Sure, I lost my mind

being coerced to move in

They ignore me and

my needs, with "later"

the word I hear frequently

Oh! Yes. I am given

Four square meals

sent through the maid

whose eyes scream 'pity'

The grandchildren

never enter my room

tucked in the basement

With barred windows

Too busy with school,

summer camps and

online studies…their excuse

 

I'm too old to move out

Trapped in this concrete tomb

crying for release

As memories slip

through the sieves

 

SNIGDHA AGRAWAL

 

SNIGDHA AGRAWAL (née Banerjee) brings over two decades of corporate experience to her multifaceted writing career. A versatile author, she writes across genres, including poetry, short stories, prose, and travelogues. Raised in a cosmopolitan environment and educated in a convent school and college run by Irish nuns, she blends Eastern depth with Western sensibility in her work. She is the author of five published books, spanning poetry and short fiction. Her most recent release, Fragments of Time, a deeply personal memoir, is available on Amazon worldwide. Her writings have appeared in numerous domestic and international anthologies and literary journals. In recognition of her poetic craft, she was recently nominated for the 2024 Pushcart Prize. Now in her seventies, Snigdha’s passion for writing and travel remains as vibrant as ever.