The War works with unparalleled diligence,
Yet no one gives it
a word of praise
—Dunya Mikhail
Praise the war that cannot
change course of rivers in this valley
of omens and bomb-wounds.
Dear son, last evening, it took us forty-five minutes
to defrost a tomato in water
heated from Kerosene brought here last October.
Praise the war that could not
puncture peaks—4590, 5140, Tololing;
adorning them instead with ghosts
of new martyrs and old narrative.
We don’t bathe from October to March.
The truancy of hope keeps Chillblains away.
Praise the war that cannot
melt ice, grow a tree, father fruits—
in this valley of ‘whispers and small town clamour’
Ponies the size of logs
carry 25 litre barrels
in minus three degree. I accompanied a
sprightly pony
called Tillu. During our climb,
Naik Birju Ram
got frostbite. The pony was okay.
Praise the war that cannot
not end; rising like a threnody from mountains,
always approaching, but never quite there,
until we find it like a stray bullet and silence
We take blood thinners. We melt ice water for
drinking. Canned food slowly grows
on you. Birju's ankle was amputated. The pony is okay.
Praise the war that gives us
memorials, stories, films, novels, museums,
advertising jingles, a reason, perhaps
The last blizzard blocked the TV antenna.
I need to put out this Kerosene lamp.
Moon shines on snow. I miss birdsong.
I miss that pony called Tillu.
Ankush Banerjee, Kargil
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