Diffused love
To grow up without cold seasons is
to find an obsession dusted with snow
For too long, my sun kept drawing shadows
But in my dreams, I would see tree trunks
branching into fragile hands
my bare prayer held up against the white
I imagined the weighted blanket of it
how it might quieten my heart's chaos
make my longings more calm and austere
In days when sunspots flecked my lashes
and the sand felt blister-rough as though it
would fuse into glass and catch the glare,
I dreamt of becoming a migrant bird
compelled to find routes away from the sun
I would follow every winter wind and current
And as calendars faded to blue-ink endings,
I would fly to lands full of diffused light
Like the Earth, I too would complete my orbit
pulled by a strange and foreign love.
About the poet:
Suchi Govindarajan is a writer, poet and photographer who lives in Bangalore but identifies Bombay, Madras and Melbourne as her other homes. She's the author of three picture-books for children. In previous lives, she has also been a technical writer and a humour columnist. In all of them, she has hated brinjals. You can follow her work at https://linktr.ee/suchiswriting or Instagram @suchiswriting
About the artist:
I am Sloka Sajeev and am an embroidery artist. I am born in Kerala, on 8 th May 1998. I am a fashion technology graduate and I’m currently working as an apparel merchandiser. The lockdown gave me enough spirits to lift up my embroidery skills back on to the track. I am a self-taught embroidery artist. Soon I launched my artworks under the brand name @Hoop_n_Hitch through Instagram and I started getting works. I found embroidery to be so therapeutic and it calms me down. It helped me discover an unknown side of me. Until now, I have worked on only hoops and I would like to explore more.