Poetry at Sangam

Poetry at Sangam showcases poetry in English and translations as well as essays on poetics and news of new releases.

CORPSES IN KASHI by Shrikant Verma

(Translated from the Hindi by Rahul Soni)

Have you seen Kashi?
Where
corpses come and
corpses go
by the same road.

And what of corpses?
Corpses will come,
corpses will go—

ask then, Whose corpse is this?
Rohitashva’s?
No, no,
all corpses can’t be Rohitashva

His corpse
you’ll recognise from a distance
if not from a distance, then
from up close—
and if not from up close,
then it
can’t be Rohitashva

and even if it is
will it make a difference?

Friends,
you have seen Kashi,
where
corpses come and
corpses go
by the same road.

And this is all you did—
stepped aside
and asked—
Whose corpse is this?

Whoever it was,
whoever it wasn’t,
did it make a difference?

• .