A beautiful poem by Kamala Das....
I received love...That woman died
The house withdrew into silence, snakes moved
Among books. I was then too young
To read, and my blood turned cold
like the moon.
How often I think of going
There, to peer through the blind eyes of windows, or
Just listen to the frozen air,
Or in wild despair, pick an armful of
Darkness to bring it here to lie
Behind my bedroom door,
like a brooding dog.....
You cannot believe, darling,
Can you, that I lived in such a house, and
was proud, and loved....I who have lost
My way and beg now at strangers' doors to
Receive love, at least in small change?
My Grandmother's House
Kamala DasThere is a house now far away where once
I received love...That woman died
The house withdrew into silence, snakes moved
Among books. I was then too young
To read, and my blood turned cold
like the moon.
How often I think of going
There, to peer through the blind eyes of windows, or
Just listen to the frozen air,
Or in wild despair, pick an armful of
Darkness to bring it here to lie
Behind my bedroom door,
like a brooding dog.....
You cannot believe, darling,
Can you, that I lived in such a house, and
was proud, and loved....I who have lost
My way and beg now at strangers' doors to
Receive love, at least in small change?
