Paeans
Photo: Karan Madhok
Poetry: ‘Paeans don’t hold stories of / Monkeys with ripped entrails, / Only of the one on the banner / Of the wielder of the Gandiva.’
Paeans don’t hold stories of
Horses straining against the chariot’s hold,
Of elephants with cracked skulls and
Musth mingling with blood.
Paeans don’t hold stories of
Monkeys with ripped entrails,
Only of the one on the banner
Of the wielder of the Gandiva.
Paeans don’t mourn for the mire of mud
Once mounds of sinuous muscle
Stretching, flexing, contorting
In service of the greater good.
In service, commissioned after
To be put to sleep
With a violent war-cry, in a field
Made barren with promises of eternal glory.
For that’s what paeans hold—
Eternal glory; Not the spoors of beasts
That bear the brutes, in whose honour
They are sung.
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Nisha Prakash is a writer based in Bengaluru, India. A poet and aspiring novelist, she is deeply interested in exploring the human experience through verse. Nisha also has a YouTube channel called “Tales and Texts” where she provides book reviews and also critically engages with her favourite topic: the impact of religion on culture and ecology. You can find her on Instagram: @nishabooksandtarot.
