The last time I saw myself
By Jeena R. Papaadi
At an airport, with a book,
On a Wednesday, four hours
Before life changed for ever…
I left myself there, on that very chair
Beside a small water bottle
And a black laptop bag
Back in a second, I said to myself,
You wait here, turn the pages;
I’ll be back in a second.
The only way, forward—
Takes me farther and farther
From the memory of the person
I once was.
There’s no standing still, no turning back,
The time machine urges me on.
Jeena R. Papaadi is a writer based in Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram with six books to her credit, including novels, short stories and poetry. Her novel Rat, Rabbit, Rock! was shortlisted in PVLF 2024 Literature festival under Best Fiction-English category. Her story ‘Houses of God’ was among the six stories by Indian authors featured in Wisdom of Our Mothers: Indian Edition, published by Familia Books, USA, in 2011. Her works have appeared in numerous multi-author anthologies and distinguished publications including The Hindu, Borderless Journal, Kitaab, European Association of Palliative Care, and Aksharasthree.