It Matters Nothing — War Is War

Another girl is dead, another boy wounded. It matters nothing—war is war.

The oven is quiet in my kitchen. A cup grows cold beside the window. I take a bite of the shrinking day, light a candle, and bake myself in the open for those who are dying for coffee.

Strange coincidence: I no longer remember there are not many bakeries in town.

Is it the wrath of God, or a futile struggle for survival?

Another girl is dead, another boy wounded. It matters nothing—war is war.

Ashwani Kumar is a poet, writer and professor in Mumbai. Widely published, anthologised and translated into several Indian and foreign languages, his most recent collection of poems is titled Map of Memories.