Selected poems

Amrita Nandini

The Little Boy

He sold magic  
mostly for free,  
wrapped in candy wrappers,  
joy and spring-coloured rosettes,  
and, at times, priced at  
a few tufts of dandelion threads.
His eyes—ablaze and fiery,  
too bright for one to see  
the sigh resting on his eyelids,  
a secret he claimed as his truth,  
shared only with the midnight moon,  
or silenced in layers  
of his incantations.
But the silly boy didn't know,  
his truth was not his secret  
but his soul,  
lighted by a thousand suns,  
as free as the dawn-bright sky,  
where a thousand dandelion threads  
could leap to reincarnate  
and grow.

Pariah

She grew like a weed  
in the rose thicket  
of the moonlit hill,  
and so was weeded  
by the polar wind.
But—  
like the stubbornness of lint  
clinging to its being,  
like the deciduous hopes  
of the refugees,  
like the rhythm  
in a flurry of broken leaves,  
she roots again  
to claim her place  
in the history  
of unsung  
melodies. 
 

ILLUSTRATION: MAHMUDA EMDAD

Hope

The leaf-dead promises 
hold fast to the frays of my jeans. 
Perhaps they are not dead;
perhaps they are just sleeping,
dreaming, 
waiting for spring…

Amrita Nandini's interest in poetry began early and has remained a constant alongside her 16-year career in marketing and communications across Bangladesh and abroad. She writes primarily in Bangla, with work published in literary outlets such as Kali O Kalam and more. Now based in Hong Kong, she is taking a break to focus on writing, reading, and travel, and hopes to dedicate herself to writing full-time. She also has a keen interest in music and theatre.