River

A river flows from my eyes every night
and the moss settled on the banks
makes the myopia of myths

The world is hazy 
as if it ends in arm's length

the river sets the limits to my world

Then my father appears 
and kindles the bedroom
with his halo

I touch the braille 
of his rugged cheeks
and move my fingers 
through his locks

It's the same old perfume

The river stops at once
with the summer of my smiles

I close my eyes
with the comfort of his company
and the night becomes 
delicious again

when I wake he's gone
as if he evaporates 
with the dried river
reduced to a handful of stains in the pillow

the river resets the limits of my world

Debasish Mishra is a Senior Research Fellow at National Institute of Science Education and Research, HBNI, India, who has earlier worked with United Bank of India and Central University of Odisha. He is the recipient of the Bharat Award for Literature in 2019 and the Reuel International Upcoming Poet Prize in 2017. His recent work has appeared in North Dakota Quarterly, Penumbra, The Headlight Review, Amsterdam Quarterly, California Quarterly, and elsewhere. His first book Lost in Obscurity and Other Stories has been recently published by Book Street Publications, India.