"Fall and Other Poems" and "Reflections"

A Collection of Poems

by Siddhartha Giggoo

A young budding Kashmiri Poet

Published by Writers Workshop, Calcutta, India.

Siddhartha Giggoo
e-mail: Siddhartha Gigoo

Dear Folks:

This is a request to support one of our young kashmiri budding poet. Siddhartha Giggoo is a 22 year old kashmiri boy and is currently studying in BA Part III at Udhampur. Since migration, he has been writing poems and his first book of verse was Fall and Other Poems which was published in 1994. In 1995, his second book of verse Reflections was published. He is a columnist for two English dailies published from Jammu. Besides, he writes stories and plays the flute.

We are attempting to generate some sales for his these two books here in States. The cost of each of these books is mere $10.00, which I am sure is not a huge amount. It would be very encouraging for this young kid from our community if we could help him in selling his books here in States. I am enclosing two of his poems from his book Reflections for your review.

For your orders, please contact Lalit Koul.

Here are the two poems from book Reflections:

Ashes

One by one they all join hands
in a queue
for cremation and burial.
The messengers of death
make merry ;
the wild fire sucks the blood ;
the survivor sets up
pyre upon pyre,
tomb upon tomb
and the unidentified float quietly
in the river of the dead.
The sons of Time distribute
the goods slowly -
riots for the poor,
prostitution for the rich
and bones for the scavenger.

Let us rejoice for the dead
and grieve for the living
as we go
from ashes to ashes.

Listening to the music of love
I prepare
for the hangover,
the last breath
and my turn to be cremated.

Burial

With my own hands
I
bury her
under the autumn-dust
and
watch the wind blow dry leaves
over
her cold flesh.

She no more breathes,
no more gifts a kiss,
no more smells of roses,
but
I see her
weeping alone
on a distant cloud.

I see no people
no civilizations
no shadows
no gods or goddesses
but only a face
and blue eyes
bluer than the cosmic scene
until
I perish
and embrace the soft bones
of my blue-eyed daughter.

Kashmiri Overseas Association On Sale Index Page