Focaccia Bread
The dough pouts in denial
holds back— resists gently
a seduction, the yeast wont
give up the folds of air
wrapped in it. The dough
whispers to the olives
found in folds, brims with
secrets of the tangy edge
along a rim swaying
with a dash of dill and
rosemary that prefers
to ring in the onions in
loops— like lovers, salsa
with a wine so red, that
it feels wise to drop the
guards, give in to the
kneads of the flesh.
Return, If Undelivered
The drive back home dotted with souvenirs
bring memories of more than pickles that
smudged the folded white shirt, strings lives
that found their way into ours, few remain
like books unread on the backseat, pebbles
chatter by the windscreen, jostling with a
newness, a roundness that feels like home.
Wheat seen swaying to music unheard, we
cross milestones in a language so foreign
we know we’re still far from home, hungry
for routine again, catfights again, our queen
sized bed, laced with afternoons of breasts
parked on pillows, of eyes staring at the
ceiling with an appetite for anything regular,
like washed linen, curd rice, head baths
and you.
Barnali Ray Shukla is a writer, filmmaker and poet based in Mumbai. She made her industry debut as an assistant director on Satya. Her first feature as writer-director, Kucch Luv Jaisaa, was backed by Fox Star. Her work in the documentary space includes Liquid Borders, Once Upon a Sky and All Is Well. These films have premiered at major film festivals in Europe, USA and Asia and collectively won over 20 awards across continents. Her recent Hindi feature Joon has 17 awards across nations such as Bolivia, Sweden, France, Japan and India. She is a published poet, her first book Apostrophe won the RL Poetry Award (India category) in 2017. Her poems, essays and creative writing feature in international anthologies spanning the UK, USA, Australia, Singapore, HongKong, China and India. Her most recent poetry is published in Indian Literature Journal published by the Sahitya Akademi. She continues to work across film, poetry and cultural commentary. Currently, she is scripting for her next feature film.