Not So Lonely Strangers 4
By Subho Maitro
In the dense mangroves, shrubs,
The conquistadors charted their map
They opened your river, unfurling
The throbbing gyrating sails
Masts erect in search for a fertile land
When did he colonize you?
Amidst so many invaders
You willingly gave-in to one
As sovereigns failed to reign
The factories of desire and manipulation
The memory of that night lingers on
The sultry wind from the sea he brought
And the brusqueness of the sands
In his aggressive fingers and toes.
Intoxication of bath remained
In the dew droplets,
ghazals, poems, laughter
the cargo ephemeral he brought
waned
you felt yourself so stifling
you felt him to be so stifling
the scattered clothes, cigarette packets
and the chartered vows you made
became redundant,
you peeled them off together
and like indomitable surfers
took in the monsoon waves.
Subho Maitro (Subhadip Maitra) is an author, translator, and journalist. He is a bilingual writer who has written poems and short stories in both English and Bengali. He has written two books of poems in Bengali as well as two collections of short stories and a novel. His Stories are incorporated in various anthologies of Bengali Short story by reputed publishers. His poetries, short stories and essays have been published in various magazines and web journals of India, Bangladesh and USA. Sahitya Akademi’s journal Indian Literature published his poems and translations. He was invited by Sahitya Akademy of India’s ‘Yuva Sahiti’ poetry reading session; He was one of the 25 feature poets selected by the Prakriti Foundation for The Hindu Lit for Life, 2014.