You Bowed In Front of Ecstasy: A Poem by Manvi Trivedi

You bowed in front of ecstasy.

In pain, I held my head high

You’ve lived with city lights,

And a world fragile.

Being robust is not so easy,

To see, just step inside my eye.

Intoxication has blurred my sight.

There you know, in this petite life

I have walked miles.

You, being an artist admire my craggy face,

And the gulabi deep in cotton.

This smoke for you is an interrogating

phase,

For me puffing this beedi is too often.

I found you capturing skin’s cracks and

crevices,

Forcing too hard to focus.

If only your lens could record the unseen

past,

Every line would define a warrior’s story,

And would be told to my forthcoming

races.

Just like the attractive hibiscus

Even when chafe, its aroma lasts

Similar will be the traces of their praises.

So you the moment capturer,

Will keep this as a memory.

And I, who wear my culture

Will treat you as an outsider

And will forget as soon as your glimpse

disappears.