My Country
Karma Chodak Gyatso

‘We belong to that hole,’ he shined
‘Our country needs us, our youthful rubber,’
But I begin to rot here, witnessing my spirit
An empty canyon where no rain ever falls,
Like a rootless sprung of a flower
Seeing all those flown-off head
Our usual rough goldish trade
Each one rot in their life so comfortably,
 
This is an aestheticism in its dullest form
Only blind men see that
 
But I still try
 
I try to listen to your speech
About our freedom’s sling and our land
But somehow everything escapes
Through this spring of million hair
And I end up roaming around the street
Like a dog without a name
Barking a pointless rebellious bark
 
But I still try
 
I try reading a few pages of history
In the meantime, I couldn’t finish it
and leave the history on the corner room’s shelf
A room that is now turned into a high-edge restaurant.

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Karma Chodak Gyatso is a poet living in India. His work delves into themes of identity, individuality, the collective sense of being, everyday life in India, and reflects on topics such as belonging, Tibet, and the Tibetan experience in exile. The release of his first poetry book, "Rimbaud’s Grave" (2020), coincided with the pandemic lockdown, prompting sales through online distributions. His second poetry book, "Gyalam" (2023), explores various themes, including memory, displacement, and the experiences of Tibetan youth in exile. The author is an alum of Delhi University where he completed in BA in English Literature and HNB Garhwal University where he completed his MA in English literature.

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