THE OTHER SIDE OF AETHER: Poem by Vasiliki Dragouni
Darkness is approaching my window,
looks thoughtfully at my tangled hands
and withdraws into silence.
You live there now, where you can hear the voices of the sea,
where you can wear snow-like a garment around your shadow.
You wander in the twilight of strange dreams
like an angel who lost her way.
You move like a flash of light in the river at the edge of sunset.
You recall the memories of trees in the loneliness of autumn
and then you withdraw into silence like an absence.
I speak to you through the universe of silent things
with the white vowels of the sky.
Here, in a landscape of hearing where languages hush
I won’t be waiting for you to answer me.
Here, where I can hear your voice
calling me out of sleep as the other side of aether,
there is no need to hug me anymore.
I look out of my window at night constellations
searching in the abyss for your fading face.
I believe in what has not been said yet, mother.
Poem by
Vasiliki Dragouni
© Vasiliki Dragouni 2022
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Prof. Dr. Laksmisree Banerjee is an established Poet, Writer, Editor, Literary Critic, Educationist, Humanist, International Scholar, Rotarian (a Multiple Paul Harris Fellow) & practicing Vocalist, with many National and International Awards, Assignments, Books & Publications to her credit. She is a Senior Fulbright Scholar, Commonwealth Scholar and a National Scholar in English from the Calcutta University, India. A University Professor of English, Poetry & Cultural Studies, an Ex-Vice Chancellor of Kolhan University, she has taught, lectured & recited in Universities and Literary Festivals across the globe. She has been widely anthologized with Eight Books of Poetry (the Ninth and Tenth forthcoming) One Hundred Twenty Research Publications and Several Academic Books. Of the many Awards she has received, a special few need to be mentioned viz. Sahitya Akademi’s “Avishkar” Honour for her multiple expertise, cited as “A Scholar-Artiste and Poet-Musician”, her UGC Postdoctoral Research Award for her path-breaking Literary Work on the Comparative Studies of World Women Poets, the Honour of The Connossiuer of Creative & Literary Arts by the Tunisian-Asian Poetic Society, the Kala-Ratnam Award and the Reuel International Lifetime Achievement Award 2021,among others. Dr. Banerjee happens to be the Indian Rashtrapati’s Nominee on Boards of Central Universities & believes in using her Pen and Voice for Social Justice, Transformation, Peace & International Understanding.