Rain

Poetry, Apr '14
By Shaleen Rakesh

Rain

do you recognize it

from your past?

as your melted glacier?

your swollen sea?

coming down from her exile

in the heavens

removed from her history

coming down at once now

to strike you

and soothe your body.

Shaleen Rakesh is an author and activist based in New Delhi and has been at the forefront of the gender and sexuality movement in India for the last 20 years. He was the primary petitioner to challenge Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in 2001. He currently works as Director at India HIV/AIDS Alliance in New Delhi, and is Editor with independent publishing house OpenWord in New Delhi.

Poem sourced from The Lion and the Antler, the first collection of poems by Shaleen Rakesh (World View Publications, 2013). Limited number of copies available with Varta – please write to vartablog@gmail.com.