—the soil and the sea

a tale of two sisters (or are they the same person?)

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*ধারা or “Dhara”: “the Earth” or “the one who holds”

*সাগড়িকা or “Sagorika” is derived from the Bengali word “Sagor” (সাগর): “the Sea” or “Beauty of the sea”

This is a prose poem I wrote that was published in my school’s creative writing magazine back in 2018. I thought I might share it here :)

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There stood Dhara,

And then there emerged Sagorika.


Dhara was rooted,

Grounded

To the chime of silver anklets,

And the clank of gold bangles.


Her sister was the ocean—

Free to move as she wished,

Temperamental enough

To crash into whomever she liked.


It—

Was—

No—

Wonder—


Sagorika gazed into the hues

Of different sets of eyes,

And expressed the nothing they made her feel.


The wild child;

She broke their hearts.


Dhara cared,

Cared enough to let her hair grow—

Grow

To the tips of her toes,

And shackle her feet.

While the sun kissed and lightened it,

She pondered her cage—

A pretty glass thing for people to peer into.

Hordes of them watched her skin wring drier,

Duller.


That's all that they admired,

Because they resented her.


Sagorika didn't care,

She observed Dhara lie there,

And unfurl.

Watched her pluck roses,

Rip off their petals,

And wish for them to grow back.


What else could have been done?

For all the Soil and the Sea could do was collide.

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photo via the sublime divani on instagram

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