Salil Chaturvedi

The Green Zone

No new cases for the past twenty-one days. For the first time in his life, dad has stopped shaving. The beard suits him. But he doesn’t look in the mirror. He has also stopped wearing his watch. He looks out the window. A lot. He walks the street with his eyes. Then he walks the skies. He’s happy when there are some clouds to walk along with. He eats his dinner quietly. Almost. Twice during the meal, he says the word, Covid. He washes his plate and goes to the window. He’s jumping from star to star.

little moth
crosses the street
wind on my face

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About the Author

Salil Chaturvedi’s short fiction and poetry have been widely anthologized. His collections In the Sanctuary of a Poem (2017) and Love and Longing in the Anthropocene: Poems and Haibun (2021) are available on Amazon. He lives on the island of Chorao in Goa.