"My friend,
I can tell you this: if you breathe
deeply enough, you will find
the gentle scent of loss
in every gust of summer wind."
-from Scent by Michael Creighton
My introduction to Michael Creighton's work was through a protest poem Maybe They’re Just Braver, which I featured here during the anti-CAA protests last December. There was something brutal yet poised in his words and worldview which appealed to my sensibilities, making me want to dig deeper and read more of his poetry.
When Speaking Tiger reached out for a collaboration, one of the first books I picked was New Delhi Love Songs. As expected, the poet does not disappoint, taking the reader through New Delhi's charming alleyways and the changing seasons, experiencing a city through the eyes of an able archivist proficient at bringing each scene he witnessed to life. I love the intimacy of Michael's connection with the city, an American who finds home and love in New Delhi, a city I had never romanticised or seen in this light before this book.
I picked out some of my favorite poems from the collection for you to read and enjoy:
