Erasure

(A poem by Nabina Das, from 'Sanskarnama: Poetry for our times', read by the author)

Take an eraser. See the damage

in the name of corrections. A swipe

to unthinkingness.

Take a white page. Slowly blow

out the black letters – some

anyway hang by

their cursive tendrils – from

the whiteness.

A little green a little torn.

I’m talking of books and histories

our heads full of winter’s tales.

I’m talking of children’s faces

that have forgotten our justice songs.

Take the darkest ink and blot the days

Take a pinch of our existence and see

how erasure becomes a norm

***

For more on the collection and the poet, go to: himalmag.com