by Saikat Das
Saikat Das highlights a dilemma that is fundamental to human existence, in verse.
The night was sprawling
On my roof
And I had promised
To meet her
When they had all fallen asleep
She came calling my name
And stood there on the steps
I heard it all
But pretended to be asleep
By my wife’s side
And the night kept waiting
On the steps
I could feel her breath:
The intense longing
Carved in her dark gaze
I don’t know
Why I kept away
Since my need to meet her
Was greater than hers
When she is gone
I will go and sit
On those stairs
Like she did for me
All alone
Then when she comes
Again
Looking for me
I know
I will
Keep away.
Saikat Das (39), comes from Chinsurah, a Dutch settlement on the banks of river Hugli. A teacher in a sub-urban High School, he dreams of writing a novel but has always ended up writing poems that wink at him rather mischievously, taunting his bouts of passion that never quite make it to a novel. But he hasn’t given up.
