PRANAB GHOSH - POEMS

Pranab Ghosh is a journalist, writer, poet, translator and blogger. He writes a blog “Existential Problems”. He graduated from Scottish Church College, Kolkata, with Honours in English. He did his masters in Journalism from Calcutta University. He has also done a course in Creative English from British Council, New Delhi. He has worked for such media houses as HT Media Ltd, Eenadu India etc. He has written
for Slant News, a US news portal and such publications as The Statesman, Economic Times, Ei Samay etc. At present he writes for Business India. His poems and prose piece have been published and accepted by Tuck Magazine, Transendent Zero Press, Scarlet Leaf Review, Literature Studio Review, Leaves of Ink, Hans India, Dissident
Voice etc. He has coauthored a book of poems, titled Air & Age. He has to his credit a translation of a book of Bengali short stories titled Shantiramer Cha, authored by Bitan Chakraborty. The title of the English translation is Bougainvillea and Other Stories. Recently his second book of poems and first solo book “Soul Searching and Other Poems” has been published by Scarlet Leaf Publishing, Toronto. He is
married and lives in Kolkata with wife, daughter and mother.

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The Wait
​

​When will the wait be over?
At every turn there is a queue
And a waiting period.
Life’s like that.
 
When will the wait be over?
You work for your living.
You toil hard to exist.
Life’s like that.
 
When will the wait be over?
You dream of a better life.
A life where you will not
Be cash-strapped. A life
Where your both ends
Meet. But it seems difficult.
Life’s like that.
 
When will the wait be over?
Last time you took your father
For a C-T scan there was
A waiting list. He
Was fighting with death.
And still you had to wait
In a queue. You implored,
You argued, you cried.
But the wait was a must.
Life’s like that.
 
When will the wait be over?
You waited for your father
To recover. You waited for
Him to fight off death.
You waited in vain.
Life’s like that.
 
When will the wait be over?
Your father died; you took
Him to the crematorium.
And you had to wait for
Your turn. In death too
The wait isn’t over.
Life’s like that.
 
When will the wait be over?
You had to wait even when
You were born. The doctors
Waited for you mother’s
Labour. They did not though
Wait in vain. You were born.
You are now waiting for your
Death to come. The wait would
Be over. You will meet your
Dead father in the world beyond.
Will there be a wait list then too?
Is wait eternal?
Perhaps life’s like that!

Selfish Yogis!
​

​Work your soul out
But do not fix your
Attention on the fruit
Of your labour.
 
Selfless Karma,
Advocates the Yogi.
 
What is journey without a
Destination to reach?
 
What is labour without
Its fruit kept in
Mind and enjoyed?
 
Are the Yogis too selfish
To promote selfless karma?
 
What is karma cola
Without the fizz?
 
What is labour
Without its fruit?

Reaching the Lord’s Abode
​

​You journey through the void
To reach your Lord!
 
You journey through the space
To reach your Lord!
 
You journey past the azure sky
The grey void.
 
You traverse light years before
You reach your Lord!
 
He is far away from you
But you sit erect in
Deep meditation.
 
As your mind reaches
The abode of your Lord!