Watching from window rails to
The near blackness
Of another 'blackout' call, on
A feeble moon night.
Switched off, all streetlights, all
Lights in homes loyally missing.
My heart drummed upon the cold
Rails pressed on it.
I, just sixteen, felt the stage
set for a scene. Inside
Asha Bhosle executed Raat Baaqi
On my speakers at low volume.
A sudden stunning flash of headlights,
Blinded by my eyes,
Smashed next by random stones hurled--
The boofs of the bursts, restoring
The near blackness.
That was it. Well done for a show.
...
Creaks and more creaks
Of police boots on gravel
Heard closer and closer,
Shifting to some whacks and whips
Mixed with a perfect wail piercing through
The romantic winter air.
Instinctively I turned off the song
To a nightly silence.
In the dim light
A black figure lay on the ground
Sprang and crawled
Sprang and crawled
by our gate,
As tears carelessly ran down my cheeks.
[Black Out: A call to extinguish all lights as a form of protest]
(The poem 'Martyr' is written in the remembrance of a young student during a state agitation, 1982)
Ankur Goswami is an Assistant Professor in English and a research scholar presently working at NEF College in Guwahati. Apart from being an English teacher, Goswami has also been imparting training on communication skills and soft skills for more than 20 years now. He loves writing poems and has been published on several national and international platforms.
