Shamefaced "I am so sorry to have done Something which is despicable, My teacher wants to see you Sometime ..." "I found on my desk this letter, Ma'am" He confesses in it that he has not Slept or eaten properly since the time You summoned him For questioning regarding The missing coin from his partner's file". The teacher a bit fluxomic, Saw a quiet agony in his full face The shame he might have to endure, Against it he needed to brace. The teacher was adamant to trace The culprit, The anxiety He could not easily efface. The son had to save his face He had snitched a coin, Though of no value In present day transaction. The values were in question. The dilemma seemed multilayered Though he did it on the spur of the moment. Charming He worked the charms, Efficacious in engaging, His final charm worked unfailingly! Affectation! Fatal attraction! Least endeavour to a winsome equation. Passions dissipated quickly with the season. From selective lots, his cards Procured and promptly passed as compliments The peripheral, casual carousels. His teenaged engagements: Passing, passions, mere dalliances. He never promised anything Extraordinary. He was not even a remnant Of his self, He'd lost his youth His zest, All his liaisons Had become redundant As he confessed that he had abused His body. An open book is it simple To read and analyze? The cover is not the book. Fatal attraction, footloose fancies, Quicken much subterfuge and detraction. Fosterhome As sauntered inside the room I hesitated due to concern. How she shall interpret Our discussion of her adoptive parents? My pleasant surprise it was As the mother divulged That the young girl was aware Of her own adoption. The parents had been grateful To have adopted from their own family. I recalled how we as children, Knowingly tried to cover the truth In order to assure a friend. Her close friend Had spilled the beans to her That she was fetched from hospital. "We too came from there, everyone does!" Was our retort. With time, we reconcile to the truth, That an adopted child is not kept in the dark The child should be aware, Early in life of the foster parents.
Dr ARCHANA BAHADUR ZUTSHI is a poet, translator, educator. Her poetry collections are ‘Poetic Candour’ (2018), ‘The Speaking Muse,’ (2019), Careless Verse Whispers (2021, Kindle). She won the prestigious Panorama International Literature Award 2022. She won accolades for her compositions from time to time. She was a poetry judge for On Fire, the Cultural Movement and United by Ink, the English Slam Poetry Competition at festival Indigo, IIT Mumbai. Her translated novel (from Hindi to English) ‘Meerabai the Legend: Her Life and Struggle as a Woman’ is available on Kindle. Its print version ‘The Enduring Saga’ is forthcoming. Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies published her translated poems of Suryakant Nirala. She co-authored ‘I Am My Father’s Daughter’ (memoir, by Miki Chronicles). She contributed to anthologies of verse such as The Kali Project: Invoking the Goddess Within,You Don’t Look Sick. Her poems are published in Born to Dream, Spotlight, the anthologies by Poetry Planet Publishing House. Christmas Anthology, A New Dawn (two poems), Lockdown 2020 (The Poet House, UK);Essence of Woman (a coffee table book) comprise her verses. Culturium featured her on the occasion of Women’s Day and Poetry Day (March 18, 2019) and included ‘Poetic Candour’ in their collection. She is published by All Poetry,United by Ink, Spillwords, Confluence, Setu, The Bilingual Journal, The Madras Courier, MirrorSpeak, Duatrope Poetry Blog, On Fire Cultural Movement, My Words: A Renaissance, Poetry Planet etc Her detailed scholastic interview appeared in The Poet Magazine (UK), 21st Century Critical Thought Volume 2 (India).The Speaking Muse has been featured in The Asian Extract, a print Magazine.
Confessions 