Two Fridas: Two Poems by Shreya Sharma
Photo: Karan Madhok
‘i will make for you one and a hundred popsicles in each flavour you can think of. pink bubblegum big collective miracle evening and so on.’
if instead of a hundred small scattered ones i were granted one big collective miracle
i would love to take you out for dinner on a cloudless evening to the place that you say “reminds” you of switzerland (where you have never been) but that is how you imagine it. we can have the food and drinks of your choosing and perhaps popsicles in lieu of dessert. one summer afternoon long ago you so wanted to try the popsicle i was eating and i wouldn’t let you. i cannot tell you how much i have wanted to make up for it. i will make for you one and a hundred popsicles in each flavour you can think of. pink bubblegum big collective miracle evening and so on. each multiplied by 101. in shapes of all the things you like. popsicle fountain pen volleyball et cetera. when you vapourize after the meal i will sell all the popsicles you couldn’t eat use the money to tip the waiters at the swiss restaurant and never return there.
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Joan Didion and The Two Fridas
Whenever Joan Didion would get stuck while writing
she would put her manuscript in the freezer
and let it rest in the cold
until she was ready to work on it again.
. . .
The third Frida extracted two of her hearts
and clamped the blood shut.
The other two Fridas watched
with equal parts scorn and disinterest.
. . .
I wish I could extract my heart
blood clamped shut
put it in the freezer
and let it rest in the cold
until I’m ready to work on it again.
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Shreya Sharma lives in Jammu and holds a Masters in Literary and Cultural Studies from The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. You can find her on Instagram: @spacegirlnet.
