Poetry 2017 Featured Sudhanshu Chopra

Losing Coordinates

We rounded the bedroom corners to
a bright finish. In the depths, I hung

my old shirt, my suede jacket, your scarf
wrapped around its faded shoulders.

Everything seemed to disappear in the
symmetry of the curves, lost in time as

if all the way back to our first date night.
We emptied our heads in the sink before

turning off the lights, and wheeled our
suitcases to the taxi. On arrival, I watched

you unpack, and breathe in the emptiness
of the boxes. Arched, you looked like the

bridge we had crossed over. I saw your little
green hairclip lying precariously where the

piers joined. It had tagged along, hiding in
the black waves. Now a freight ship was coming

through, you set to give passage. I held my
hand very close to the eye, and climbed your

rising back slow-mo on giant fingers. Below,
the colourless sea beat for a familiar splash.