The dreams,
the purple calamities
wrapped in rolled-up letters;
this was now the sitting position
of the chameleon.
The bell rose in the corridors
like a sulphur smell
infusing time with memory,
turning them into the concepts
that they were,
ringing against empty metals
for our dogs to
raise their ears.
And the ears belonged to the dogs,
the bell to the stars.
Priyanka Kapoor works at the Vedica Writing Center for The Vedica Scholars Programme for Women. She has a Masters in English Literature from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. She has been published on platforms such as The Indian Quarterly, Hakara, Voice and Verse Poetry Magazine, The Showbear Family Circus. She has been shortlisted for R.L. Poetry Award and The Brooklyn Poets' Fellowship. Recently, she was published in the Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English (2020-21) (edited by Sukrita Paul and Vinita Agrawal).