Kalpna Singh-Chitnis

When Scars are Invisible

We can do more, yes, 

we all can do a little more 

than holding a no war sign,

putting a sunflower frame 

or yellow-blue stripes 

on our profile pictures.

Yes, we can do more, a little more 

than standing across the fence

as silent spectators watching

the horrors unfold on our TV sets, 

and listening to the peace talks 

that have nothing to do with peace.

But sometimes, that's all we do.

We sit with the guilt of

doing nothing more and being a part of

all that is unkind and unfair,

and hope that another city or country 

wiped from the world map is not ours.

Ukraine, our scars are invisible.

Sunflower

I draw a sunflower in the sand and toss it up in the sky.

Grab it if you can, and hand it to the little Ukrainian boy in tears

walking alone toward the border of a foreign land.

A plastic bag he carries has a message for the world.

The red diary he holds has the offenses of history.

The burdens on his shoulders are ours.

He is tired—give him the flower.

He stops a sudden, refusing to walk —

in the direction the world is going.

In his halt are the hopes for the future.

Ground Zero

Splitting the lungs of the sky,

a bomb drops like an hourglass

filled with fire, emptying itself to the last atom.

The hole left in the heart of the earth

fills with the cry of millions fleeing their homes.

Every heart in a war is ground zero. 

War and Flowers

The flowers did not go to the weddings and birthdays as planned, 

christenings of the newborns, or to profess love for valentines.

They did not sit idle at homes in vases. They refused to go

to the palaces of dictators and monarchs.

They did not go to the temples, churches, and synagogues,

did not offer themselves to God and Godmen.

They went to honor the coffins of the soldiers,

and unmarked graves of the innocents and braves.

They traveled to the borders to accept the refugees, 

and sat on shrines to pray for peace. 

And before they wilted, in fire and snow, 

the flowers scattered their seeds to grow.

Everyone takes a new role—in a war.

Brief Bio: Kalpna Singh-Chitnis is a Pushcart-nominated, award-winning Indian-American poet, writer, filmmaker, and author of four poetry collections. Her poetry, essays, and translations have appeared in notable journals like "World Literature Today," "Columbia Journal," "Cold Mountain Review," "California Quarterly," "Indian Literature," "Silk Routes Project" (IWP) at The University of Iowa, Stanford University's "Life in Quarantine," etc. Her poetry has been translated into fifteen languages, and she has received praise from eminent writers, such as Nobel Prize in Literature nominee Dr. Wazir Agha, Vaptsarov Award, and Ordre des Arts et des Lettres recipient Amrita Pritam, and poet and Academy Award winning lyricist, and filmmaker Gulzar. Poems from her award-winning book “Bare Soul” and poetry film "River of Songs" included in the "Nova Collection" and the "Polaris Collection" Lunar Codex time capsules are set to go on the moon with NASA's missions" in 2022 and 2023. Her latest film, "The Tree," based on her work of poetry won the "Best Experimental Short Film Award" at the 2022 North Dakota Environmental Rights Film Festival and others awards at international fim festivals. A former lecturer of Political Science, Kalpna Singh-Chitnis is an Advocacy Member at the United Nations Association of the USA, the Editor-in-Chief of "Life and Legends," and the Translation Editor of IHRAF WRITES, a journal of International Human Rights Art Festival, published from New York. Her forthcoming poetry collection, "Trespassing My Ancestral Lands," is in the making.

Website: www.kalpnasinghchitnis.com