Minu – 1

a poem by Gagan Pattanayak

This tree reminds me of that
sea and river
and mountains
and temple
and forest
and birds
and beasts-
I imagined
that tree-
everything around it
how come they not be fair
here, you have
with thy hands
then had scribed
a plus between names-
in a heart
your name and my name
this tree reminds me of that
someone had cut it
and a broken heart
and a name with half of its letters gone.