The rainbows last evening

two rainbows woke up
last evening at east london
eyes still heavy in slumber
in rebellion
in unequivocal shadows
clouds gaggled away in
a rush of quarrelsome gulls
about
who is who
more beautiful today
I remembered you at hauz khas
behind the ruins
when you had touched
me with your smile
on such an unlikely day.

Poem and Photograph by Amitabh Mitra

Mdantsane Black

fireflies burn a blue sky
black
black are we
grown from unseen embers
black is mdantsane
black is the river soul
and a runaway season
black is the night
of hurts
and tangled
thoughts
of sudden you.

Mdantsane Photograph by Amitabh Mitra

Mdantsane Laughter

mdantsane grows on its own
piece of sky
and land
its birds live there only
occasionally the grass grows
crossing the perimeters
a taxi swerves into another
white collared land
honking madly
passengers laugh
at caged zebras
rushing around in
a strange dress code
trying to shed
its timeless riverguilt
a girl laughs out aloud clutching a tree
back in rural mdantsane.

Poem and Drawing by Amitabh Mitra

Didnt I tell you

didn’t I tell you
there would be a night
a sea
drifting to a far edge
of memory sand
and there would
still be darkness
in random corners
of our woven talk
we shall then merge
in numerous skins
on numerous streets
eyes hawking a breaking storm
when a colored moon suddenly
opens a sky to just another sea.

Poem and Watercolor by Amitabh Mitra

When the sun broke in Mdantsane

a sun broke into many pieces
over cecilia makiwane hospital
that day
we all went out collecting pieces
patients held out their palms
colors camouflaged hopes and infections
yonela too smiled
somebody laughed out
aloud
in
mdantsane
again.

Poem amd Watercolor by Amitabh Mitra

Gary lives in Mdantsane, Poems of Mdantsane

gary laughed out aloud
there is a white man
in his cage
it must be raining down there in Newcastle UK
and the school teacher left his umbrella behind
ha! ha! ha! ho! ho! ho! ho!
rain trickled down his mind
in cold stillness
among his inflamed sulcis and gyris
till a river struck him
his eyes dilated at the strangeness of things
the knobbly tree of all things reaching for him...
today I wondered
even in his disjointed form
he happily gazes at consummation of mortal
beings.

Poem and Drawing by Amitabh Mitra

Nights at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital, Mdantsane

and the child gasped
a caged wind screamed
noiseless of a last night whimper
trees swaying outside
in restless tribulation
refused
I asked a late night
for an answer
yet a black sky
revolted.

Graphite pencil and ink drawing by Amitabh Mitra