My Grandmother's House by Kamala Das

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 My Grandmother's House by Kamala Das

 

Kamala das

There is a house now far away where once

I received love……. That woman died,

The house withdrew into silence, snakes moved

Among books, I was then too young

To read, and my blood turned cold like the moon

How often I think of going

There, to peer through blind eyes of windows or

Just listen to the frozen air,

Or in wild despair, pick an armful of

Darkness to bring it here to lie

Behind my bedroom door like a brooding

Dog…you cannot believe, darling,

Can you, that I lived in such a house and

Was proud, and loved…. I who have lost

My way and beg now at strangers' doors to

Receive love, at least in small change?

Kamala Das

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