Poetry at Sangam

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

DURING THE DOWNPOUR I SEE GLIMPSES by Ellen Kombiyil

of me in another life. I am caught
in mid-frame, frozen and spliced, this slice
of my life not mine but could be mine,
the heel of my high heel lifting –

away from this rutted road, from street vendors
pushing metal carts, their sad calls sounding
over the rubble of buildings falling down,
buildings mounting up, women rising

at four in the morning, the laundry
in drifts waiting to be slapped clean.
Half-clad children play in the dirt, become
the color of mud spattered past the ankles,

past the knees. Refracted through rivulets
running down the windshield glass, it’s clear
I’m seeing what I’ve always seen:
amid piles of dirt and sand, piles of stone,

one me bends to prepare supper that will be
swallowed too quickly, while another far-off me
races stone steps two at a time, heels clicking
against solid, well-swept construction.

The far me has almost reached the lit awning,
not looking behind or even aware
of what can be seen between drops of rain
that pound down the car’s black metal.

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