"The Curse of Memory" by Bharti Bansal

The Curse of Memory

Another day passes by,
Another memory emerges,
Only to be lifted like a dying fish,
Only to be seared in a simmering warmth,
Only to remind me there is a certain relief
In the act of remembrance —
To know the memory served its purpose.

What a misery it is
To swim and swim and swim
Inside the body — this memory,
Only to surface as a sigh,
Only to live with ruptured fins,
Only to learn to crawl,
To hover at the lips,
To stay there,
To grow wings,
And teeth,
And lungs,
And a mouth
That whispers a prayer,
That tells the story of a wound
And its guttural laughter —
To be swallowed whole,
To settle in my teeth,
To bear witness to the horrors it must sustain,
To have its eyes clawed out for taste.

Bharti Bansal

Bharti is a poet from India.

Headshot: Bharti Bansal

Photo Credit: Staff