Poetry 2018 Longlist, Promila Jakhar

‘It is the way it is’

The Ganges
Chilling Crystal clear in April
Colder Muddy from July
It flows
It flows
It flows
It is the way it is

Holy River
They say
Making
Impure Pure
It flows
It flows
It flows

It is the way it is

My friends
All Women
Have shifted to plan B
After state government orders
Halted
Our rafting plans

It is the way it is

Bonfire and Stories
Acceptance and Rejection
Achievements and Failures
Narratives
Narratives
And more
Narratives

It is the way it is

The Ganges
Goddess
Mother
Ever embracing Humans and Souls
Lives and After-lives
It flows
It flows
It flows

It is the way it is

Now the ocean of love
India’s longest river
Seeking help
From her children
Patient and Kind
It flows
It flows
It flows

It is the way it is

Wrapping in her tides and depths
All our secrets and embarrassments
Consoling it flows
Waiting
To be loved back
Pre and Post ‘Aarti’s’
Too
It flows
It flows
It flows

You know
Beginning from the beloved’s head
Rinsing him in Love
Till his toe’s
She is born to flow

It is the way it is