A Silent War Rages within Me
By Tirtho Banerjee
I look for solace beyond...
out in the world—
and the strife only grows
more tumultuous.
I see the face of cruel audacity;
stabbed empathy bleeding;
a freedom in agony.
Charred bodies
of children piled on one another...
discarded like
stubbed cigarettes
in an ashtray.
A son carrying his father’s
bombed frame on his bicycle—
killed while waiting at an aid center,
as others in a distant land
have a blast on Father’s Day.
A skeleton of a building,
a doll in the rubble.
A mother’s choked cries
echo through shattered bricks,
while a boy in a bar
strums Imagine --
and the crowd gives a collective clap.
A media professional for over 25 years, Tirtho has travelled across India. His job has also taken him to the UAE and Oman as well. Tirtho likes to call himself an international citizen. He loves to commune with nature. Listening to music is his best way to unwind. Having been a leg spinner himself, his favourites are Abdul Qadir and Shane Warne. He loves sports -- from hockey and badminton to lawn tennis -- and keenly follows them. Currently, he lives in Noida and writes for a national website. His poems have been published in several anthologies. Adrift is his sixth book. He is working on a collection of short stories, as well as another poetry collection.