Do not look for the Lorelei
in the Rhine,
look over the prow
of your boat —
loitering,
distracted by night water,
or pondering
the ripples of sunlight,
a telling
of memory
loud as silence
imagined in cities —
there are Lorelei
in other rivers too;
summer rivers
flow down the spine
of quiet shadows in lanes
like sweat;
but, who is that passing?
who is that, caught
between the shadows
of years?
Beware the Lorelei! —
loitered by water,
pondered by water
in dusty cities.
By Debasish Lahiri
Paintings by Abanindranath Tagor
About the author:
Debasish Lahiri is an internationally acclaimed poet. His poems have been widely published in journals like The Journal of the Poetry Society of India, The Poetry Salzburg Review and The French Literary Reviewamong others. Lahiri is currently on the editorial board of Gitanjali & Beyond (Scottish Centre for Tagore Studies). He is a reviewer and regular contributor to the ‘Life & Letters’ column of The Statesman newspaper. Lahiri’s essay on the pandemic in Kolkata appeared in the L’Obs magazine on 27 th July 2021. Lahiri is the recipient of the Prix-du Merite, Naji Naaman Literary Prize 2019. He is an honorary member of Maison Naaman pour la Culture.
Categories: Reviews
The Asian Review 