Poetry: When we were young by Mayank Chugh
Sometimes, you’ve got to make way for the joy, the sweep of it across your sense of sweat and time. Thank you, Mayank, for giving our team that, and for giving us your poem to share.
When we were young
a white swan fluttered its wings under the water
it all began
you and I in the blue
abyss of time wrapped in yellow kelp, sweet
kissing the rippling life inside & outside dancing
with every ray of sunshine coursing through
our hearts float
we float we float endless.
Mayank Chugh
A cell and developmental biologist and diversity activist at Harvard Medical School, Mayank is a poet and an artist. He is a selected poet at Through These Realities, a New England art installation 2022 challenging the narrative of mass media that invalidates the experiences of people of colour. His work has appeared or forthcoming in Narrative Northeast, The Lumiere Review, The New Verse News, Pepper Mag, and Spry Literary Journal. He has served as a reader for the Harvard Review and currently, he is working on his first poetry collection. You can learn more him here: mayankchugh.org. You can also follow him on Twitter and Instagram @mayank_mchugh
