It’s the Little Things

Summer can bring both joy and pain, but all of it is a feeling of life. Read this lovely poem by Abhinita Mohanty that captures the summer magic of love and sorrow.

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That Summer Day

That time, I saw you last,
You have never looked such a sombre version,
It seemed there was a smile in you, and an inverted curve on my face,
Your mom looked away, her voice muffled
Under sweltering heat, in sweat, I remembered,
We both hated summers,
Those nasty, smell of grime on hair and
Those prickly rashes in our cleavage,
Under that sun, you looked so dainty,
That day, at your funeral,
I finally fell in love with that summer,
And your iridescent presence flickers,
Through other summers passing by
The face of yours, like the firmness of dewdrops,
Gives me another day to live by, and
Another sweltering summer, to look forward to, reminiscent
How much we have hated summers.
Our melting sundae from the ‘hub’ store,
Hair soaked in saline dreams, lip-glosses melting into air, and
The nape of our backs soaking away vapours,
Those red rashes that refuse to stir, since that summer,
Everything is relived, replayed,
Until those linens choke the air out of me.

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Poet:

I am Abhinita Mohanty from Odisha, India. I am pursuing a PhD in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras. My works have been published in Outlook Magazine (Website), Feminism in India (FII), New Asian Writing, Burgundy Balloon, Trouvaille Review, Tribune newspaper and Women’s web. I try to bring new perspectives of ideas and about life in my poetry. My poems are an attempt to capture, mostly small, insignificant moments which stirs me.

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