BLUE ROSE

I love what you love –
A poem, to be precise.
My tongue lacks eloquence
And so, to be concise…

I saw a blue rose –
I remembered your hand
Touch roses that turned blue
And your fingers on the land
That invisibly, you drew…

That land is full of roses
Where memories bloom…
You, too, come to look for me –
I assume…

*

POSTCARD FROM A CLOTHING STORE

Ten years ago, I got a postcard
From a clothing store in Berlin –
It was an advertisement for the launch
Of their new line that season,
Featuring a pastel-toned photograph
Of a man and a woman who seem to be in love…

I saved the postcard for ten years and then
Gave it to you when the very thought of you
Made me visit clothing stores…

But now I lounge alone in bed
Wearing your old grey shirt
And not bothering to fix my messy hair…
All because one grey winter day
You gave me back the postcard, your promises revoked…
And I tossed it in a shoebox and went alone to bed…

*

APPARITIONS

Incomprehensible
Are the images
I see in dreams –
Their unexpected content
Perplexes me…

I don’t remember imagining
The people who visit
And fill me with longing
That they quench when
I sleep, and then I wake up
Wishing to forget
The connection…

It disturbs my peace…
The peace gained after
I have almost successfully
Tranquilized the apparitions
In my head, who
Wake up now and then mobilize
Armies
To strike at my thoughts…

Jagari Mukherjee is a freelance content writer who currently resides in the City of Joy, Kolkata. She has an MA in English Literature from University of Pune. She was awarded a gold medal and several prizes by the university for excelling in her discipline. Her writings, both in English and in Bengali, have appeared or are due to appear in different literary outlets, including The Statesman, The Criterion: An International Journal in English, Indus Woman Writing, Anandbazaar Patrika, Bangladesh Barta, Narrow Road Literary Magazine, and many more. Her first book, a collection of poems entitled Blue Rose, was published in May 2017.

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