Sweta Vikram's latest chapbook Saris and a Single Malt echoes the grief that's universal but at the same time unique to each one of us.
It is a heart wrenching read. The poems are filled with anguish but at the same time beautiful.
Some lines from the book...
"I remember the knots in your saris--
your very own mnemonic device.
Beta, these remind me that I need to remember something,
you would say
and then forget what it was you needed to remember."
"I worry how I will preserve
the scent of your memories"
"I can't wear white, my bleeding heart will ruin it"
Pain is perceived as dark but somehow Sweta manages to share with us the various colours of an emotional trauma. In the beginning the poems are more subtle but teeth clenching. We await to hear the news with the poetess.
The middle section poems are fiery, angry, confusing and passionate whereas the last section draws to a conclusion where we see the change is evident due to loss.
Words cannot explain such feelings to the fullest but they can paint a picture. Sweta once again creates a very visual painting in this new book.
