Cross
Translated By Rajiv Mohabir
Translated from the Guyanese Hindustani by the author
To mourn an impossible life—
we have become objects of a King
we will never see.
All water has become black.
The Ganga River reaches the ocean—
all ocean has become the Ganga.
The boats we took are haunted,
spirits crisscrossing the far shore to here
unaware of hope or pain,
instead feeling the sharp prick of thirst.
Were I to wear a dress could you guess the color?
Yes, you, whose tongue Demerara sweetens.
What, did you think you were not complicit?
I have already said
all water has become black water.
Source: Poetry (September 2025)