Poetry at Sangam

SangamHouse

 










VENUS by Malika Amar Sheikh

(Translated from the Marathi by Sachin Ketkar.)

She doesn’t have arms
Like me
Her vision utterly dead
She stands in a showcase
Frozen stiff
Like me
With difficulty,
She manages to cling
To the rocky robes of culture
Between her legs
And stony lips
Closed tight
Like me
Women in the cities melt
Turn into statues of Venus
A primeval woman
Lets out a stony scream
The city collapses
At her feet
Throwing the sky
Into disarray.