BACKSTITCH: RITIKA CHANDY Ritika Chandy lives in Bangalore, India. She is in the last year of high school and is currently studying the sciences, mathematics and English literature. Next Poem:....................................................................................................................................... Back to Poetry Index

 
Eventide, and in the crepuscular light

of three ribbons, 

I sew onto a thick cloth 

what tomorrow will be—

But dreams are the past,

not the future

 

In and out, the sweeping

motion, piercing, precise.

A row of little stitches,

perfect along the top,

deep red crepe against

soft un-blighted white.

An anachronism, when 

the soothing buzz of machines

efficiently slides down

and takes over.   

A quiet satin story, not

the tales of sullied damsels 

as usual. But check,

check on the other side.

The knots, the tangles,

threads, strings

 

unstrung, the dark

vines merging into patterns

anything but lucid, swirling

like liquid, not the 

translucent light of winter. 

The spaces, the unspoken, 

between the stories,

hidden lacunae. 

Check,

 

check 

the backstitch.

Under the rows of smiles

of sweet red lips

is a mouthful of blood.

Next Poem: ......................................................................................................................................Back to Poetry Index