“Death of one eye is loving. Death of both is love.” —Daipayan Nair
“Ashes & diamonds, foes and friends, are quite the same in the end.” —Sushmita Gupta
~~~
First I disappeared, caring for myself less and less,
As I fell madly in love.
Oh God I loved you more and more and more
And everything certain became a guess,
As my known self was replaced by you.
You triumphed in love which really is a war
One wins: love, singular, alone,
Made one where there had been two.
Love has no opposition or borders; it is Eden all around,
Dissolving in one person. Shapeless bliss!
My whole self hung on the valley of your kiss,
Until a snake entered with a certain sound.
Then you were gone.
And loving one became none.
Then, once loving, I knew love: sad, blind, profound.
Paradise itself, in every feature,
Was now its own hell. Punishment because I needed you, and you were a creature.
How sweet and friendly and nice we were, when we were casually, two—
But now there is nothing. No friend. No foe. No you.
