Spun Sugar: A Book of Poems

By Debasree Ghosh

Every time I chance upon a fun fair and whiff of cotton candy greets my nose, I follow its enticing aroma through the whirlpool of food and game stalls, eagerly tip-toe my way up to the spinning crystals of sugar on that familiar, almost spherical machine, waiting for the cobwebby texture of the sweet treat to appear, before it is adroitly wound around long sticks, to coax it into a semblance of compact coherence. As I wait with increasing anticipation for that melt-in-the-mouth, smear-all-over-the -face sensation to end up in my hands, my mind begins to spin much like the machine itself. Caught up in its centrifugal force, an analogy draws itself around me. How life, with its myriad events, have spun around me, adding layers, weaving disparate dreams, each incident wrapping itself around another, to endow me with some sort of an identity. The spin of development, physical, emotional, cognitive, and perhaps even spiritual, weave around the corners of my mind, and in the midst of this sudden reverie, the tangible and edible cotton candy was ready for me to devour. I realised that the moisture of the air was causing the wispy delight to shrink, to diminish...how akin is our existence to a cotton candy? As we spin through it, or rather it spins around us, we keep growing, not just physically, but in all aspects of our existence and once we stop that motion, and are exposed to a lull, a stagnant pause (repesented by the water vapour in air) do we become rather flaccid, shrink, almost diminish? What does this spinning motion imply? That we have to lead excessively hectic, frenetic paced lives, in order to grow and 'prosper?' Or rather, as I would hope earnestly, does it mean that we shouldn't stop spinning our dreams, cultivating our hopes and nurturing our aspirations, making friends, entering meaningful, multi-dimensional relationships, and motivating our passions, egging on our wills, until the crystals of all such thoughts take on a tangible shape, are woven into an attainable, if fleetingly temporary reality? The sugar crystals, to me, seem to represent all the people I've known, all the incidents I've encountered, all the houses I've moved to, all the pillows I've slept on, all the books I've read, the characters I've met, the places I've loved, all the mistakes I've made, the faults I've tried and try every day to rectify, the fears I've harboured, the hopes I've treasured, the stories I've created, the truths I've taught myself to believe, the faces for which I longingly yearn, the passing emotions which I try to chronicle...and these are the ingredients of our lives, with which our identities are spun, and just as moisture almost deflates the pink mass, time will eat away at most of the superfluous layers around us, until we are left with only the sugar crystals which mean the most to us, which we value and prize the most, ranging from an unforgettable memory, the inexplicable satisfaction of a job sincerely done, a goose-bump inducing touch, a faint smell from the cupboards of the past, the sensation of a re-visited emotion, the stirring sentiment behind a forgotten tear, the beauty of vulnerability, the assurance of strength, the lessons of disillusionment, and the magnificent hope of a new, slowly unfurling dream, the varied texture of diverse bonds. Through this book of verse, I hope to spin together the varied experiences which have crossed my path.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Feb 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781482870947

Debasree Ghosh

Debasree Ghosh has always had a penchant for Literature. She grew up on a salubrious diet of literary works from around the globe and her bilingual state of being served as a big blessing as it opened up the rich realm of Bengali Literature for her. She enjoys analysing works of art, including cinema and theatre and is very passionate about chronicling passing emotions through writing. Professionally, she enjoys teaching and wishes to be associated with the world of academia eternally, growing in knowledge through interaction with keen minds.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Debasree Ghosh.

ISBN:      Softcover         978-1-4828-7095-4

                eBook             978-1-4828-7094-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/india

Contents

Spun Sugar

Unison

For You the Skylights Dim

Draught

Musing

Fancy

Bide and Bide

Identity

Bafflement

Amity

Fleeting

For You, I Love

Dogged

Unrequited

Vulnerability

Struggle

Endurance

Presage

Solitude

Vicissitudes

Delve

Organic

Complements

Life

Arise

Fantasy

Fleeting

Abandonment

Medley

Solitude

The Bench

A Monody

Memories

Amity

Tu se Manques- you are missing from me

Mood

Liberty

Nightfall

Slip

Amour

Superfluous

Distance

Broken Barriers

Day Break

Emotions

Dissolve

A Tale of Two

Her Faith

Rapt

Spun Sugar

How startling is life, when we think of how...

It alters us, even now

I feel a change, somewhat strange,

Descend on me like a settling cloud.

How Life flings us far away

From the very day

Of our birth...how it rents us apart

From our birth places...

Tears us away from those well-loved faces...

How it paints new chapters, with an invisible brush,

Sometimes ambling but forever in a rush...

The college where I teach just completed its bi-annual fun-fair, where I got, among a host of other things, the opportunity to re-live at least one aspect of my childhood. The moment a whiff of cotton candy greeted my nose, I followed its enticing aroma through the whirlpool of food and game stalls which our college had become, and eagerly tip-toed my way up to two girls who were selling cotton candy, spinning crystals of sugar on that familiar, almost spherical (mostly round) machine, waiting for the cobwebby texture of the sweet treat to appear, before adroitly winding it around long sticks, coaxing it into a semblance of compact coherence. As I waited with increasing anticipation, for that melt in the mouth, smear-all over the face sensation to end up in my hands, my mind began to spin, much like the machine itself...centrifugal force, is it? And I had to, in spite of myself, draw an analogy with Life itself, and how its myriad events have spun around me, adding layers, weaving disparate dreams, each incident wrapping itself around another, to endow me with