untitled
by: Kunwar Narain 
translation by: Apurva  Narain

There was so much in the world
asdassdto fight and vie for
asdassdto kill and die for…

But the heart I got was such
that it stayed lost in a bit of love
asdassdand life went on…

 

Slayer
by: Jessica Hudson
artwork by: Kevin Wingert and Jessica Hudson

How I wished I would be a chosen one:
cool enough to worry about my clothes

more than my history homework,
fearless enough to follow my nightmares

incarnate through unlit high school halls,
strong enough to roundhouse-kick

the horned head off a hell-fresh demon,
my small claddagh-ringed fingers (nails

smooth and unbitten) tender enough
to touch the face of an angel.

 

—

 

Kunwar Narain (1927–2017) is widely regarded as one of India’s foremost poets, thinkers and literary figures of modern times. Apurva is his son and translator—his publications include the books of translation No Other World, The Play of Dolls and Witnesses of Remembrance

 

Jessica Hudson is working on her Creative Writing MFA at Northern Michigan University. She is an associate editor for Passages North. Her work has been published in perhappened mag and Sweet Lit, among others.