Poetry2 October 2023
Autumn in kashmir
Could someone share a poem depicting chinar leaves falling this autumn? I am miles away this year. Can you tell me if you're anticipating the snow in Kashmir this year, and if you'll joyfully run through it? What about the kangris? Have you added that powder which ignites the coal, sending ashes into our nostrils, making winter's presence felt? How's the cold? Do the elderly keep their kangris inside their pherans, cradling them like mothers holding their babies? Do the young ones head to the orchards early in the morning, gathering apples from each tree to sell to autorickshaw drivers? From a distance, how do the paddy fields appear? Do the stacks of hay evoke memories of childhood? If a poet could share a poem along these lines, I might not feel the absence of autumn and winter this year.