Death Is only a Granular choice

by Ananya S. Guha / June 14th, 2026

Shadows lengthen
Skies are overcast
The world is bludgeoned
With fear
Who knows what will happen
Next?
Do you know who is fighting whom?
The blood smeared man
Wipes a tear which only
Falls into the ground like a dewdrop
How long will we weep?
Whose tears will we wipe?
Whose blood will we smear?
And which war will be fight?

Here in this lonely town
The purple hills look
Stoically at the world
It cannot understand
What wars are fought for
What wars are meant for

Hills of solitude
Forget past
You too are embattled
You too had blood in your streets
But I clung tenaciously grief stricken
Unable to leave (you)
Just as now the larger world smears
Ubiquitous tears
And the beggar boy wipes
The snot in his nose

That is when the world gets heinous
With the cock crow the day returns to its
Origins
And death is only a granular choice

Ananya S Guha lives in Shillong in North East India, where he was born and brought up. He has been writing and publishing his poetry for the last forty years. His poetry has been published in both electronic and print formats such as: Indian Literature, Other Voices, Osprey Journal, Glasgow Review, The Literary Nest, Up The Staircase, Asia Writes, Art Arena, Praxis Online, Muse India, Your One Phone Call, In Between Hangovers, The Peeking Cat Magazine, Post Colonial Text among others. He has also written widely on educational and social matters. He has ten collections of poetry and his poetry has been anthologized in various collections of Indian poetry in English. He holds a doctoral on the novels of William Golding. Read other articles by Ananya S..

This article was posted on Sunday, June 14th, 2026 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.