Poets Printery

a rustic sun
in stealth
catches
tembeka
through stained glass windows
droplets of green
turns
day
into deeper shades
of a lingering smile

First published at AmitabhMitra @ Blogspot

earthy constrictions
and a wheeze
a river stopped
and a sky topples
unabated.

Poem and Watercolour by Amitabh Mitra

After a successful launch of poetry / art book, ‘A Slow Train to Gwalior’, Amitabh Mitra brings you yet another extravaganza of art and poetry in his latest book, ‘Leaping the Liliac Sun’. The book was simultaneously launched at New Delhi and East London today. A coffee table book printed on premium paper, this book is a reflection of contemporary South African Poetry and is a proof of Amitabh Mitra’s close interest in fusion of art with poetry. This book is priced at Rand 700 including postage. Any enquiry to Amitabh at amitabh@amitabhmitra.com

drawing suns
near her breast
where the liliacs are
the word
of strange blind men

Pritish Nandy
Riding the Midnight River

i watch from the hospital
children playing soccer
nutrition disease sickness
are not a discomfort or disability
they kick the ball to the gods
showing their thumb
the sky shakes
happiness is a whirlwind
wind
in their eyes
the ball in the goal
unafraid of any future.

Poetry and Watercolour by Amitabh Mitra

mount ruth lives on a narrow road to mdantsane
the grass has grown wild here ever since
beyond many elections, many promises, many beliefs
nothingness is depleted sometimes
when a mad rainbow catches
a rare laughter
miracles do happen on an everyday
mdantsane.

Poem and Drawing by Amitabh Mitra

febrile convulsions
the road to mdantsane
jumps of arrhythmia
twists in contortion
of an impending stroke
nobody here watches
streets dying
the shacks rasping
sells us still
unconfined freedom
layers of elements and
longings
a river of so many people
touched the sun
the sky
with their
fist
once.

Poem and Drawing by Amitabh Mitra

in the far corner of such a night
bereft of smell
people remain unoccupied
on the floor stained with broken
breaths
i am there too
the fluid runs as blood weeps
black is the colour of freedom here
the souls jagged edge
dares to take the curfew
of disease and death
the hospital wall catches a permanent
tan
too

Poem and Drawing by Amitabh Mitra

noorganj is stuck to the side of the fort
tiny eruptions of many colours grew steadfastly up
in muharram we chanted ya hussain together
and tried to change the bland stone skin
and a rain
nobody sees us here, you said
in noorganj
clouds collaborate with time
a salamander grows wild sometimes
touching bats of an evening sky
and even in
noorabad
not so far away
my great grand ma
ganna begum languishes
in a ruin, another grave
they killed her
she had known the sun and serpents
around it
and about us
yet you whisper of the
other sun
other shame

tell me then why do you come back again.

Poem and Pastel Drawing by Amitabh Mitra

Pietermaritzburg based poet and publisher, Graham Lancaster launched Journeys, An Anthology of Poetry from different parts of the globe. The book has an eclectic collection of poems that makes a great reading. I usually pack it in my coffee bag during calls to the hospital. The book has been edited by Graham Lancaster and Shaleen Kumar Singh.