On Poetry

A poem is the sanctum where
The gnomic utterance of the most primal
Human notion meets language;

Where forte meets pianissimo in the same chord,
Where eons and eons of music are compacted
Into five notes.

A poem is a sound that builds on
Its own trembling tenor with a birdsong at its core,
Only to collapse into its own void.

A poem is when you touch
My feelers in pitch darkness and dance
With me for two minutes in my cosmos—

And believe it is all that is worth remembering.

Anannya Uberoi (she/her) is a full-time software engineer and part-time tea connoisseur based in Madrid. She is currently a poetry editor at The Bookends Review and columnist at The Remnant Archive. The winner of the 6th Singapore Poetry Contest and a Best of Net nominee, her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Birmingham Arts Journal, The Bangalore Review, The Loch Raven Review, and Tipton Poetry Journal.