1.

They know how the light lay like a curve

They lift the soul submerged

They demand an answer.

I stammer and blunder yet

I like them because they are like me.

……………………………………………….……………………………………………….……………………………

2.

Doors are unfastened within,

waiting for a mellower hour,

all the withheld days undid their

knots at the far end.

We welcome this quiet shift of positions.

……………………………………………….……………………………………………….……………………………

3.

In this mountain the dervish wonder

that whirls and says God is love, lover and beloved.

I hold my breath; the earth holds its breath.

No definitions, no reasoning required,

I wonder in the wordless wings.

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Gopal Lahiri is a bilingual poet, critic, editor, and translator with 33 books published. His poetry is published across more than 150 journals globally His poems are translated in 18 languages. He has been nominated for Pushcart Prize for poetry in 2021 and Best of the Net for poetry in 2025. He has been conferred First Jayanta Mahapatra National Award on literature in 2024. His poems were included in the Penguin Book of poems on Indian Cities. Some credits- The Madrid Review, The Poppy Road Review, Amythyst Review, Ink, Sweat & Tears, One Art Journal, Shot Glass Journal, and elsewhere.

You can find him on social media @gopallahiri.

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Picture Credits: Musa Ali Chaudhry