It Never Ends, What Once Begins
By Alka Balain
The bamboo stands more naked.
Its ochre-thinned network,
zigzag spines tilted,
living the April heat—
browning, beaten by grief.
Together, we've moved
through these last few years.
I’ve heard its groans,
attuned to silence,
crawling into its worn hollows,
blowing into its hardness,
searching for what’s been lost.
The roots that hold the giant
do not open their doors.
I suppose it’s my age,
though we met not long ago.
I rest my head on the window,
while it leans into its own spaces,
waiting for monsoon rain,
while my window stays dry;
my flesh drenches
in prehistoric waters.
Alka Balain is a postgraduate from Lucknow University, a bilingual poet, and an artist. A former educator, she has completed a short-term online Writing Poetry course at the University of Oxford. Alka currently serves as the Chapter Head (Singapore) of the Asian Literary Society (ALS), India. Her work often explores themes of mysticism and spirituality. She has been shortlisted for the Glass House Poetry Award (2024), the ALS Wordsmith Award (2024/2020), the Poetry Festival Singapore-Catharsis (2023/2021), and the Wordweavers Contest (2022). Her work appeared in The Tiger Moth Review, Amethyst Review, The Hooghly Review, Kitaab, Usawa Literary Review, Setu bilingual, Shot Glass Journal and elsewhere. Her debut poetry book is Parijat Petals, of seeking and longing.