and the Nile asks …….

the milky way with the  lusty loops  

a mystical harper on the Aswan dam 

plays duets with the nimbus  

the cotton farmer rushing to the field

the Nile  carries  dark silt 

as  a pregnant women 

writes the history of civilisation

and geography of pollutions 

“how long shall I carry the cyanotoxins ?

allow me to sing songs of destination ”

Swapna Behera is a trilingual poet, translator ,environmentalist ,editor from Odisha and author of seven books of different genres including one on children’s literature on Environment. She is the recipient of International UGADI AWARD 2019, honoured from Gujurat Sahitya Akademi 2022,2021,International Poesis Award of Honor as Jury, Pentasi B World Fellow Poet, Honoured Poet of India from Seychelles Government and International  awards from Algeria, Morocco, Kajhakhstan ,modern Arabic Literary Renaissance of  Egypt ,Argentina etc. Her poem A NIGHT IN THE REFUGEE CAMP is translated into 67 languages. At present She is the Cultural Ambassador for  India and South Asia of Inner Child Press U.S