Literature from India and the world over! Indian Literature Magazine
A sea of sand so limerent.
Stalks its languid prey under a midsummer sun.
A pitiful camel and its sun-stroked captain.
Elements of pathos, on the verge.
Pursued blatantly by an army of rolling dunes.
Wisps of green,
simmer on … [Read the rest...] “Judas Window | Davis Varghese”
A tiny ray of the mighty sun
Wipes the darkness away
Toeing the path shown by the enlightened one
My bilboes one-by-one decay
Darkest corners of my soul
Fireflies of wisdom gleam
Spark-by-spark every day
My inner lamp starts to … [Read the rest...] “I Look Inward | Sheetal Agarwal”
In Flight
Into your fiery mouth,
I rush. I am ash.
I am beyond myself,
no longer a daughter
cast out,
good for nothing
but scullery or madhouse.
I am a mottled moth
diving into your fire
to be consumed.… [Read the rest...] “In Flight | Sri Lal”
A naked Kali dances atop the mantlepiece.
The smell of paraffin hangs in the air
Like the death of glory on a breeze.
This night would be a cold one.
My sisters warn me about how
Like the red and … [Read the rest...] “Saffron and the Seven Sins | Shanaia Kapoor”
She’s ashamed of my eyes.
She’s left my eyes to the fish.
My lips are abandoned buildings.
My jaw is Detroit.
My feet live below the poverty line.
I am trapped in traps.
She is made of milk and jewels … [Read the rest...] “On Being Left | Ron Riekki”
A beginning
A glowing promise beckons
Days are short; time is shorter.
Surprise around the corner
In autumnal tones awaits
I am in turmoil
Wanting the radiance of new
Desperate to leave history behind
Rid the sterile pessimism of
Unfulfilled … [Read the rest...] “August to September | Bindiya Bedi Charan Noronha”
I was brushing off the memories of yesterday
over a pause in the afternoon
when I heard a knock on my pillow.
A person I had met once before called from the door.
Greetings were passed. ‘Nothing’ was up and … [Read the rest...] “When ‘Nothing’ is Up, and Everything is as ‘Usual’ | Prateek Joshi”
There is hope only for the dead —
they who have been buried or are willing to burn.
I shape myself with life —
a hungry mantis fighting to keep death away
I hasten within
— the scream of a … [Read the rest...] “A Forgery | Prateek Joshi”