Gagan Gill

1959 / Delhi

Only for a Day

Only for a day
she will not think
about you

and fish will lose
their way in the water

the burning sun will hang
helpless in its orbit

the umbilical cord of time
will wind round its own neck

Only for a day
she, forgetful,
will place her lamp
between the sun and moon

and the seven sages
of the heavens will be anxious

letters will shatter
after breaking away from scripts

souls will forget their faces
and there will be no mirrors

Only for a day
you will vanish
in an ethereal mist,
a moment

and darkness will spread
to the ends of the universe
lava will gather
inside the earth

and cockles burn
in their shells
for miles

Only for a day's
oblivion
this body will turn blue

with its own bite
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