Art by Neethu Sabu
Origami Dream
I have a dream. I'm made of paper. A paper folding and unfolding, folding, unfolding. There is a scissor in my mouth and a cavity in my large stomach. I am a dream, a dream of paper. I'm almost done. I do not exist. I'm so thin, I could compel myself into non-existence. Become the air that floats through me. I roam. I roam. I roam. I'm gay. I'm joy itself. I'm the tower of a building. I am a cable wire hanging in the eye of the sun. I am the shutter behind which the cat sleeps. I am its hallucination of pearl. I roam. I roam. I am the air itself. I own nothing and possess it all. I am the very wings of destiny. There is no destiny. There is time and time is in my mouth. It is a river between my teeth and my socks are birds prodding feed. I am the wing, the solitary wing that bursts through lovers' windows. I land on pigeon shit and I fly again into burgundy seas. I'm the very eye of sun. I'm up, up and above. I sit atop the world. I'm a dream. I'm so light I do not exist. I'm so light that nothing could weigh me. I'm a dream, a paper dream and nothing in the world ever reached a dream. I'm a dream, a paper dream; I'm alone and listless and free.
About the poet:
Aakriti Kuntal, aged 28, is a poet and writer from Gurugram, India. Her work has been featured in various literary magazines. She was also awarded the Reuel International Prize 2017 for poetry and was a finalist for the RL Poetry Award 2018. Her poem Lilith was nominated for the Best of the Net 2018-19 by the Pangolin Review. You can find more of her writing here.
About the artist:
Women are multifaceted and there are innumerable possibilities in illustrating them. My Paintings are about celebrating the feminine. Mostly my paintings become dream machines and my women savour the new found freedom within the confines of the canvas. There are times when my women become vulnerable, but that's the world's reality. In spite of which my women learn to resist, reclaim freedom and my art becomes a refuge for them. Follow Neetu's work on Instagram.