Poems by Goutam Chakraborty

The river that never got married

 

In ancient days, when myth and legend reigned,

A river flowed, with secrets and agony sustained.

Narmada, fair and lovely, with waters so bright,

Wore a crown of sorrow, a fairy tale in the night.

 

Once betrothed to Shonbhadra, a prince so fine,

Their union awaited, with joy and love divine.

But unfortunately ,wooed by Juahila's deceitful might,

The Prince turned away and his love took flight.

 

Betrayed and wounded, Narmada's heart did break,

She turned away from Shonbhadra, her love to forsake.

In solitary flow, she charted her own course anew,

Westward she flowed, opposite the rivers' gentle hue.

 

No longer bound by love's chains, she found her own way,

Free from the pain of heartache, night and endless day.

Her waters whispered secrets of independence and might,

As she flowed through India's heart, a shining light.

 

In myth and legend, now her story lives on,

A testament to love's betrayal and the heart's song.

For Narmada, the river that never got married, too,

Embraced her solitude, with a spirit anew.

 

Her waters carry whispers of purity and might,

As she flows through time, a beacon in the night.

A reminder that even in heartache and pain,

We can find our own path, and rise above the strain.

 

Ode to my slippers

 

 

My mother brought me

a pair of slippers

which she chose herself,

from the shop's warm shelves,

two slippers as soft

as her loving touch.

I slipped my feet

into them

as though into

two cases

filled with a cool comfort.

Simple slippers,

my feet were like

butterflies in

two quiet meadows,

where love blooms,

where warmth whispers secrets.

My feet were honored

in this way by these

heavenly slippers.

They were so simple

for the first time

my feet seemed to me

unacceptable like 

two heavy burdens,

unworthy of that soft 

and soothing touch.

 

Every day I wear them—

to walk to the park,

to sit on a bench,

to watch the world awaken 

to go to the office or elsewhere. 

 

The slippers always remind me of my mother. 

 

I never let them slip off my feet,

except while I sleep

and let my mother's love envelop me,

like a soft blanket, always.