Armed with this array of impulses, we learnt uneasily,
to live with each other, with songs and dance to gel
this newfound togetherness,
but always fearful that like licks of fire that vapourise
into the night,
we will be forgotten.
Author: Beni Sumer Yanthan
Beni Sumer Yanthan (Yanbeni) is a poet and folklorist from Nagaland, belonging to the War-Jaintia and Lotha-Naga tribe. She is an Assistant Professor of English and Cultural Studies in Nagaland University, Kohima.