Tangled
by Smitha Sehgal
The sea washed over the city while I slept inside the shell of noon. Light, someone cried. I glowed and glowed, focusing the last drop of my energy into lighting the candle. Afterward, I flew into the fire and danced in circles as my festooned wings caught fire. A snow mountain pushed inside my head. I moored my gaze on the anchor of hell. We stopped by the extinct sun lake in the noon. My skin had become water by then. Waking up in a gaseous cluster of a million stars, I cut the slack and rode straight into the sun. Tropical sun ripe as lemon. I think of the sunflower sapling. On the night of the full moon, the flower exuded calm before a careless snap of my finger broke apart the stem. I do not know you. A thousand times we rehearse this. A woman can ride into the sun and return unscathed, bringing forth a baby star from a blue grain.
Smitha Sehgal is a legal professional and a bilingual poet who writes in English and Malayalam. A Best of Net nominee, her poems have been featured in contemporary literary publications such as Ink Sweat & Tears, Osiris, Marrow Magazine, The Indianapolis Review and elsewhere. Her collection How Women Become Poems in Malabar (Red River) was conferred Runner-Up, The Wise Owl Literary Awards (Poetry Category) 2025. Her poem was long-listed for the Passionfruit Review Poetry Contest. She was chosen as Featured Poet, Erbacce Poetry Prize- UK, 2025 and her second collection, Brown God’s Child is forthcoming. She can be looked up at https://www.facebook.com/smitha.sehgal