Five Poems by Swetha Amit

 

Changing tides

When twilight prevails, and darkness flows

The waves creep close, kissing my toes and caressing my feet

his love reminds me of the ocean tides

sometimes ebbs, sometimes recedes

leaving me thirsty and gasping for more

shells pierce my feet. pain embellished in my soul

wondering about his return with the same passion

my soul trapped in apprehension

I know I gave it all

Now I stand, burnt in sorrow

My tears trickle into salty droplets

I realize he has gone too far

My feet sink in the lumpy sands

I watch the waves pull away

Into the distant horizon

Dissolving into wrecks

I have no choice but to let go

To learn my lesson, to walk away

I listen to the resounding echo of waves

The way my heart once beat for him

I now rest in solitude. I forgive him

Edge of the seashore

 

Standing on the water's edge

The sound of the shrill seagulls

The scent of the salty ocean

Mass of unfurling waves

Caressing my feet.

Each wave is like a lingering hug.

I pick up one shell after another.

Sharp edges of shells prick my hand.

Until I can bear it no more

I hurl them into the water one by one.

Create ripples in the salty mass of white foam.

Watch the sun peeping from the horizon.

Embrace the new beginnings.

 

 

Cradled under the Coconut Tree

 

How I like it here

Under the coconut tree

Where the long leaves sway

The smell of wet mud from last night's rain

Insects are crawling beside me.

Hazy blue sky, puffs of grey mist

My head rests against the sturdy trunk.

I turn off my thoughts.

From those verbal abuses

Endless arguments, banging doors,

Hands that pierce my tender skin

How I like it here

Swarmed in solitude and peace.

All I need is a little bed.

A night lamp.

A cup of hot tea

I can still live.

My spirit is free.

 

Icicles from the sky

Outside, the world was white.

Flakes of snow fall from the sky.

Like icy balls of tears.

Trees are bare.

The lake is frozen into a sheet of ice.

I am sipping hot cups of cocoa, the only sweetness left in my dreary world.

My husband rests in his grave.

my children are on the other side of the world.

I am wearing mittens and gloves.

My cat is curled on the rug like a ball of fur.

Together, we snuggle by the fireside.

Praying neither of us gets a frostbite.

With time, the cold wave will also subside.

The Deadly Retreat

 

The warnings came just after the sea retreated

The wet sheet of sand was naked for half a mile.

Colorful shells glistened like enticing jewels.

Lured by the sudden exotic resplendence, they ran barefoot.

They paid no heed.

Even when I hollered about the foamy dark curls at a distance.

I ran when I saw it coming.

My lungs felt on fire.

The wall of salty water came with an unrelenting fury.

Preyed upon the souls that trusted it.

Drowned the echoes of my screams with a loud hiss.

Corpses floated like logs while the black wave continued to surge.

By Swetha Amit