Padma Venkatraman

cantfindit

Padma Venkatraman, American writer and oceanographer, lived in 5 countries, visited many more, explored rainforests on remote islands, played with mathematics, was chief scientist on research vessels, and decided to share the sea of stories within her, through her books, as she sailed through life with her family. Source

Undone

They ignored the new boy,

snickering behind his back.

 

                                                    In silence, I stayed     safe.

                                                    My lips pressed          together.

 

Growing bolder, they

pierced him with arrow-sharp

words.

 

                                                    I pretended

                                                    I hadn’t                       heard.

 

They twisted his arms.

One word escaped his lips

before they dragged him

out of sight, out of earshot:

“Cowards!”

 

                                                    I ran                             away.

 

 

                                                    All the                          words

                                                    I didn’t say                    haunt me every day.

Published:

2021

Length:

Regular

Literary Movements:

Contemporary

Anthology Years:

2023

Themes:

Agency

Identity

Violence & War

Literary Devices:

Dialogue

conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie

Rhyme

correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry

Varied Punctuation

diverse use of punctuation.