Stuck between Languages

by Poornima Laxmeshwar

Can language be a barrier for someone who’s in love? Poornima Laxmeshwar presents her perspective through a poem on the theme ‘Love & Friendship’.

It is okay to be native
Your new obsession with literature
Does not bother me
When you sit and talk to your friends
About Hamlet, Macbeth
Sylvia Plath and Kamala Das
About tragedy that let imagination sprout
Those vowels coming out of your mouth
With proper placed punctuations
Make me love you more

When in the middle of the night
I whisper love me, love me hard
I weave poems in Kannada
Songs and duets that echo
In the dim lit chambers of my heart
But you seem glued to the silence of the night
Analysing your words
Slant after slant

I want to tell you that I am crazy about you
But when I open my mouth
I can only say
English gothilla

*Kannada – a beautiful Indian language
*gothilla – do not know

Poornima Laxmeshwar is an MBA in Finance works as a content writer for a living. Her haiku and poems have appeared in several magazines and anthologies. She resides in Bangalore, India.

Pic : http://www.flickr.com/photos/katiaivaarts/