A Mulberry Spring
written by: Dolonchampa Chakraborty
A woman’s desire to live
Is not hers
A combined will power of those around her
That turns her charm, her smiles and tears
To a beautiful day when butterflies flutter
And her nose-pin falls
Into the well of colorful shadows
Of flowers, clouds and rain
That the woman picks out one by one
To keep the shadows clean
The shadow’s depth, blackness and touch
Becomes her
She breaks the stone masonry underground
With lucid force she starts flowing
Towards an ocean that she hasn’t met before
Nobody picks her up, nobody can
Hold her strong, wrap her in warmth
No one spreads a sky for her
To plant geranium and rose
Her earthen planters stay empty
Sadness grows in them
Sadness of different colors and size
Different kind of blues
Make a warm bunch of loneliness
In her habit to keep the darkness clean
She picks up her loneliness carefully
Gives each a mythological name
Places a vase in the middle of her heart
Where red and blue sails are unfurled
To steer the wooden boats clear of iceberg’s path
And catch the dewdrops at night
To fill the vase halfway
So that the blossoms stay fresh
To remind her on gloomy days
A woman’s desire to live is a struggle
Like a river she crushes her curse
Buries them under the Mulberry tree
Where Sparrows are born
And creates a bloodline for another universe
- A Mulberry Spring - May 17, 2019
