An evocatively intense love poem, by Nandini, exclusively for Different Truths.

I hadn’t thought of writing
about nature’s negotiation until you told me 
what stone we are carved from,
what lesions make you, you
and me, me, to this extent.

The nights of solitude wound me, 
the yellow moon incites my scars.
Yet, I am consumed 
by the melancholy of your extant; 
my past suffers in its bereavement. 

You fleece the things that you should share 
and say what I want you to hide. 
I pretend to laugh.
But my ebullient laughter can't hide my scars.
I can't put my quiet ache under
this disguise at this moment.

You have come to my retreat after long yearning
you have given words to my yearnings.
Isn’t this negotiation of nature enough
for us my love?
Isn’t our home
home-enough? Our nights, night enough?
Aren’t oceans, ocean enough, butterflies,
butterfly enough,
rains, sunsets, mountains, birds, wind,
sunrise, leaves, ladybugs
enough in their nature and spirit?

Nature took off its life
from the day of our acclimatization.
Now, I see an icier shoulder
on the negotiation table.
I see a responsive flora and not too wearisome a boulder,
and our dropping of chains for shackles—
well, I comprehend no other floor of commitment.

Picture design by Anumita Roy, Different Truths

Prof. Nandini Sahu

Prof. Nandini Sahu, Amazon’s best-selling author in 2022, professor of English and Former Director the School of Foreign Languages, IGNOU, New Delhi, is an established poet, creative writer, and folklorist. She is the author/editor of 17 books. She is the recipient of the Literary Award/Gold Medal from the Vice President of India for her contribution to English Studies. Her areas of research cover New Literatures, Critical Theory, Folklore and Culture Studies, Children’s Literature and American Literature.

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