Whales

Rohith

In the wee hours of morning
when I wake up with a start,
I think of whales, their enormous
bellies and infinitesimal fins.
I think of their immense bodies
calmly rowing their way through
silent waters of eternity. Those
wingless whales moving like
clouds or huge balloons in the
fixed skies of small hours.
I think of their dreamy slowness.

In the wee hours of morning,
when I wake up with a start,
I become a whale, floating forever
in the massive fluids of time;
all alone, ancient, in the mythical
quietude of a different era;
When I wake up with a start,
heaving enormous sighs, melting
icebergs in chest, a whale, reaches
the surface in a different ocean
at the other end of the world.

*

Rohith is a poet from Anantapur, a small town in South India. He grew up listening to the strange and fantastic stories of Anantapur and its people. Studying to be a doctor, he is frequently found lost in dingy bookshops or exploring the empty outskirts of the town. He writes fiction and prose in his mother tongue, Telugu, and translates poetry from Telugu to English. He posts his poetry and translations on Facebook. His poetry has been published in magazines, such as The Sunflower Collective, Cafe Dissensus, The Bombay Literary Magazine, Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine, Raiot and Coldnoon journal.

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