Poetry at Sangam
Poetry at Sangam showcases poetry in English and translations as well as essays on poetics and news of new releases.
The heart ticks and pumps
I feel no emotion
In the head lies the brain
Sending and receiving signals
I cannot hear it think
I hear voices
They are not mine
People insist it is I
These voices are not mine
They stand me in front of a mirror
This is you they say
I do not recognize the face
I do not recognize the person who stands
Looking back at me
Let us show you, they say
Here’s a photograph of you
Who is this person you say is I
I do not know him
How do you know who it is
They are puzzled by my questions
Look here
They hold me by the shoulders
Do you feel anything
Our hands grasping your arms
Shaking you like this
Nothing
Feel my palms against your cheek says my mother
How I pass my hand above your eyebrow
And brush back your hair
It is not me you touch I say
Who is it you caress
Thinking it is I