Potion
By Ajanta Paul
Footsteps dying
On the cobbled flagstones
Of medieval history...
The flag of serendipity
Flies at half-mast,
Mourning which tragedy?
Sobbing strains
In sorrow's solstice
Mark the long night.
The apothecary chooses
Powdered roots of past emotion
For his mysterious potion.
Peace hides in clusters
In cloistered soliloquies
Of the shadowy soul.
As passion philanders with purity
In the brief interlude
Of the morality play.
Dr. Ajanta Paul is a widely published poet, short story writer and literary critic. She was the Principal of Women’s Christian College, Kolkata and is currently its Governing Body Secretary. She was a university rank holder both in the University of Calcutta and Jadavpur University. She went on to earn her PhD in English from Jadavpur University. A Pushcart nominee, Ajanta has been published in national and international literary journals and anthologies including Spadina Literary Review, The Pangolin Review, Offcourse, The Statesman, Indian Literature, among others. Ajanta has four collections of poems, two collections of short stories, fifty literary reviews (by her), thirty critical reviews and interviews on/with her, two acclaimed books of criticism in addition to numerous academic books and papers.