Wednesday, May 1, 2019

ANTARA BANERJEE



ANTARA
BANERJEE
ALL IN GOOD FAITH

Midas touched us today.
No, we did not turn into gold,
instead, his corrupt ambition
engulfed us with vengeance.
So, all us poets
sat together this day,
conspiring to kill poetry,
to extract gold
out of the very food
we seek to feed our souls with.

And why not?
When we have managed to
bottle water, can air,
sell the 'art of life'?!
Let's do it again!
In the name of 'Art',
at the altar of the Masters of gold.

Let's behead poetry
and drink its blood
in cheap paper cups,

Whore it!
Sell sachets of chopped and brined verses
at the local tuck shop
and create
a brotherhood of innocent murderers-
A guild of the merchants of poetry!

And trust me,
we shall do all this,
in good faith!
Let our poetic liberty
crush poetry
under its grinding teeth
and mangle the words
into an uncouth yellow pulp.

Let us be usher in
our own undoing,
drop by drop,
bit by bit!
(c) All rights reserved. Antara Banerjee






CHANGE

Woman! It is about time,
Change yourself!
Your silent, meek endurance
will really not help.
Woman! It is about time,
Change yourself!

Pushing you into fire,
Ram became Purushottam,
He revelled as the hero,
as you were thrown to harm.
Yank that mask of virtue
away from his face!
Woman! What have you done,
to deserve this disgrace!?

Why blindfold yourself Gandhari,
after a husband blind?
Why refuse to see,
and nurture an open mind?
Keep your eyes open
for you must open the world's eyes,
Woman! It is time you wake
and call womanhood to rise!

Who will come to save you
from ravage, rape and shame?
Your husband? Your God?
Your saviours, who never came!
Delude not yourself on stories
of gallantry and charms.
Women! Come together!
Rise up in arms!

Wrap not your tongue in fear and shame
utter the daring word!
Raise your voice against injustice
and let the noise be heard.
Step out under the open sky
the bells of change will chime!
Woman! Etch your history yourself,
upon the walls of time.

let not the fetters of false virtue,
deter your forward march.
Renounce your fears, guilt and shame,
it's time to act harsh.
Tread upon the chest of the stifling
society in you must.
Woman! Be a rebel.
Break free from the past.

No one will arm you with weapons
like the Goddess of war.
Bathe in your own power, woman!
Brace yourself! Be sure!
It's time you stirred gunpowder
in your blood yourself.
Woman! Know your own strength,
You need no help!

Look into the mirror and promise,
to the woman you behold.
That you shall not just seek beauty,
but strive to be bold.
Seek not charity, solace or pity
you have your pride to redeem.
Let the world stand humbled in awe
invoke the power within.

Stand up woman! Waer your crown.
There's much more in store.
Live your life in honour and glory
It's worth dying for!!
 (c) All rights reserved. Antara Banerjee






RENDEZVOUS

The furies
are pouring down
on the earth tonight...
the awesome symphony
of the clouds
and the rains,
is reverberating
around the dark firmament.
Thunderous applauses
are clapping across the skies
as lightning cleaves
the doors of the prudish heaven.
The oceans surge
with crazed waves,
lashing out on the shores,
the tortured rocks
shatter and crumble
into the turbulent waters helplessly...
See
what was fated for you and me tonight!
We were destined to be swept away!
to drown in a deluge,
to die fluid death!
To be washed
to the shores of another world...
to another dream...
It's a pity,
we failed to keep the rendezvous
Lost the magnificent moment!
Why death?
you ask....
Don't you see?
Some deaths are
more precious than life...
sweeter than several lifetimes...
Those that would endure...
only if we had the heart...
had courage enough,
to meet them!
(c) All rights reserved. Antara Banerjee

ANTARA BANERJEE

ANTARA BANERJEE is best known for her two books, 'The Goddess in Flesh' and 'To be a Woman'. Recipient of the prestigious Sanmarg Aparajita Award 2019 as a Young Achiever for her contribution in the field of literature, she is Masters in Image and Communication from Goldsmiths College, London and a graduate from the Presidency College of Kolkata. Apart from being a novelist, she is also a poet in three languages. She writes verses in English, Bangla and Hindi. In a language that is marked by boldness and passion at the same time, she endeavours to transport her readers to a world that can only be described in words, a world that is shrouded in charming intrigue. Because, words can evoke imagination, that is constrained by nothing!


1 comment :

  1. Imagery is a clear stream of thought in these poems. And AWE slithers along...

    ReplyDelete