Death The Leveller
Was it destiny
that drew us
both
to the quiet
edge
of the same
ghat?
In life, we
stayed apart.
like parallel
lines of train tracks
turning away at
the slightest bend,
guarding
distances,
we never named.
And yet, in the
end,
death,
impartial, unpersuaded
gathered what
life kept apart.
Two urns,
downturned
into the Ganges
sacred waters
Ash dissolving
into ash
For death, the
quiet leveller,
does not
ostracise love
between the same
genders
Only reminds us,
too late,
we were never
meant
to be apart.
©Snigdha Agrawal
Voices Silenced
That day, the
girls were up at dawn,
excited to hand
over their homework
An essay on
female foeticide
written straight
from their hearts
The enthusiasm
was but short-lived
Sirens
screeching overhead
Warning of an
air raid
Drowned the
cries of the children
and staff, as
the building collapsed
under the impact
of the bomb
burying them,
one and all.
Who knew that
destiny,
would throw a
curveball
for all of them
on that fateful morn?
Who knew that
the work
of convoluted
minds would strike
to decimate the
female child?
Clearly, with
the intent of halting
procreation in a
proud tribe
Tell me, which
one is
a bigger crime
on the scale of
atrocities?
To still a
heartbeat
before it learns
to speak,
or to shatter a
thousand voices
that had just
begun to rise?
Maybe those
unread essays
had lots of say;
never to be read.
©Snigdha Agrawal
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 worldwide on Amazon. 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.
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