That Is Why I Write A Poem

by Ananya S. Guha / October 11th, 2026

If wars stop
Will there be peace?
In every death there

Is raging war

In Palestine the tragedy

Of death whispers in

Every corner, every alley
In every dream
In every wish
In every tear
In every anger

In every love

Only children vanish

After a bath in blood

I am not angry about wars any more
I am not sentimental about wars any more
I do not weep for wars any more
I can renege on my principles

To live a carefree life

(But we are sentient…)

Owen, you were right
The poetry is in the pity

And the pity of war

That is why I write a poem – of ‘pity’
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, October 11th, 2026 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.