The Marbled Sigh

Let Me Ask

Let me ask who has seen rays licking

bent sunflowers after the war in Kiev 

Let me ask who has seen children playing 

in bruised streets in the Middle-East 

Let me ask who has smelled a red rose 

and kissed pink lips in the Gaza strip  

Let me ask who has heard birds chirping

a melancholic note in the smoky sky 

Let me ask what has come in the sky 

and hid the glimpses of flickering stars  

Let me ask who has killed curiosity 

the most precious wealth of mankind 

Let me ask the men giving commands  

from war-rooms for destroying diverse voices.   

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O.P. Jha’s works appeared in Rigorous, Mantis, You Might Need To Hear This, Punt Volat, Discretionary Love, In Parentheses, Shot Glass, Lothlorien Poetry, Kelp, The Cry Lounge, The Odessa Collective Magazine, Backchannels, Homer’s Odyssey, The Indian Literature, The Broken Teacup, Poetry Pacific, Five Fleas-Itchy Poetry, All Poetry, By the Beach, miniMag, Iceblink Literary Magazine, Infinite Scroll, The Rome Review, The Tiger Leaping Review, Aloka, Ghudsavar, Panorama, Gabby and Min’s Review and other journals. His poems (with other poets’ poems) appeared in anthologies We were Seeds (from Querencia Press) and We are Resilient (from Valiant Scribe).. He holds Ph.D. in “Translation Studies”. He’s authored a book, Management Guru Lord Krishna. X:@OPJha17