Winter’s Tale

by Bibhu Padhi (January 2014)

 

Winter’s touch is here.

The remote bones suddenly

surface from nowhere.

 

Lean lines

of a contraction

run along the limbs.

 

Where is the touch

that heals?

 

The evening has no answer.

 

The bones go slowly

brittle, turn dark

just as the evening does,

 

rest perilously

on themselves.

 

Summer is a dream,

hovering above

 

the body’s next season,

the other hemisphere.

 

__________________ 

 

Bibhu Padhi's seventh book of poetry, MIGRATORY DAYS A TRAVEL DIARY IN VERSE, was published in 2011. His work has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, the most recent being THE HARPERCOLLINS BOOK OF ENGLISH POETRY (2012). He lives in Bhubaneswar, India.

 

To comment on this poem, please click here.

To help New English Review continue to publish original poetry such as this, please click here.

If you enjoyed this poem and would like to read more by Bibhu Padhi, please click here.