☛ We are inviting submission in the field of literature and literary theory in the form of article, book review, poem, short story, travelogue and interview for our regular April issue (Vol. 6, No. 2). The last date for submission is 31 March, 2025.

FRECKLED GROUND (A POEM)

 


FRECKLED GROUND (A POEM)

 

-         Janani K.S. (India)

 

Sitting in the shade of a tall and broad tree, 

A giraffe and peacock at once, 

I spot the light that flickers 

Through the gaps in bald spots. 

Like a diamond that reflects light, 

The age-old ground shines, 

Once here and once there, 

As the leaves rustle in the howling wind. 

“Not just the moving leaves,” I tell myself

“Even when you move, the light flickers” 

I think as I look once again 

At the shiny dappled ground.

Closing my eyes, 

I think about life, 

And the light. 

Maybe the leaves would move

To create my favourite specks of light:

The ground turned freckled. 

But, maybe, just maybe, 

I could move and look 

At the crystalline sparks

From a place I desire, 

And the ever-changing freckles

From a different vantage. 

But change is constant. 

Until the death of the night 

Buries the freckled skin. 

Even then a new day looms large

 

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