YEAR 2020
On the stroke
Of midnight
The year 2020
Under a canopy
Of a moonlight night
Will slowly fade away
I have a very
Special request
Let’s sprinkle the seeds
Of Tolerance Respect Dignity
Understanding for all of humanity
Let’s focus on the innocent victims
Who have lost loved ones
Causing agonising excruciating pain
Wondering when will they ever see
Their loved ones again?
Wiping away their
Sun drenched tears
Or no amount of consoling
Will bring their loved
Ones back
Alas! all they have is
Precious memories
To keep the flame
Of love alive till eternity
Farida Bamji
Jonathan Koshy, and Fasttrack Fiction, has now penned a series of poems on the Covid-19 pandemic, tracking its causes and consequences. Shroff, a Commonwealth Prize-shortlisted author and a 6-times Pushcart Prize nominee, says he turned to poetry in order to capture the intensely emotional and psychological states created by these extraordinary circumstances. “The purpose of literature is to bring man in closer contact with nature, to expand our understanding of the universal laws that govern us, and which we are bound to obey by mere virtue of having taken birth on this planet. I found poetry to be a liberating and powerful medium to convey this,” adds Shroff. “The Lockdown Blues” (below) is part of a series of poems that will feature in Shroff’s debut collection of poetry. Shroff’s stories have appeared in over 65 literary journals in the U.S., UK, and Australia. He has been invited to speak about his work at universities like UC Berkeley, UCLA, and USC, and at literary festivals like the London Short Story Festival, the Emirates Literature Festival, and the Irrawaddy Literary Festival in Myanmar. Shroff can be contacted on