Jayanthi Sankar

 

Jayanthi Sankar

 

Midnight Moments

 

1

 

Constantly cross with me Midnight

Keeps me awake, like a new born his mother.

While I cling to my angel of sleep

He pulls me away from her, forcefully.

The angel so gentle lulls me back to a lumber

Every time he drags me, I limp back to the angel

Till the first rays of the sun tame him.

 

 

 

2

 

The giraffe entered my room with its calf legging behind

I too have a baby, she boasted tall

When I woke up, suddenly by that loud announcement

Only a mild smell of fume lingered in the room

The candle had melted away

Giraffe had left its organic smell to touch my ceiling

My baby mumbled in hunger at her nursery next room

 

 

3

 

The constant murmurs of the cicadas

and cooing of a faraway baby found their ways through my window

while the darkness dripped like a thick viscous black wax

Where was the wax when the night bade goodbye in the evening?

Where would it disappear when the glorious sun rose majestically at the horizon

The wax flowed into my eyes, deeper in my mind.

 

JAYANTHI SANKAR

 

JAYANTHI SANKAR has been in several international literary festivals, including the APWT 2018 at Gold coast. She loves reading fiction as much as experimenting with writing fiction. Her previous novel, Misplaced Heads, was the Eyelands Book Awards 2020 final list in Greece. It made its mark – as an outstanding post-modern historical fiction of the decade. Her highly acclaimed work 'Dangling Gandhi' was the winner in fiction: short story in 2020 International Book Award American book fest. The Literary Titan award was another international award it also bagged apart from a shortlists and nominations. She lives in Singapore.