Chehra, jaan-e-ghazal. (Translation: A face like the soul of poetry) | Sifath Agarwal
Your face
the last peach left in summer,
split softly at the seam.
Sun-heavy.
Sweet to the point of ruin.
I place it on the windowsill
and watch the evening arrive in pieces.
To love a face
is to watch it become
more than a face.
To watch sweetness invite
wing and worm,
shadow and seed.
Chehra –
a cage of fragrance.
Jaan-e-ghazal
the pit at its center
dark with another orchard.
Let the dark have its share.
I can stay
in the rot for you.
Let the night-teeth come.
Let them carry you away
in their million small mouths.
What rots
is only the fruit.
What remains
is the hunger it taught the earth.
​
Sifath Agarwal is a writer with a particular interest in personal essays, culture, and reflective nonfiction. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Catena Literary, an independent youth-led magazine dedicated to cross-art connections and diverse artforms. Through her work, she hopes to create spaces where young voices can be heard, shared, and celebrated.