Micro review: ‘Rising Petals’ by Ashwini Rath – Times of India

Ashwini Rath’s debut book ‘Rising Petals’ is a collection of 26 poems that explores the anxiety of modern people through moods, places, events, and objects. The poetry collection was published by Notion Press.

“‘Rising Petals’ is an anthology of poems that reflect the anxiety of anybody yearning for the next stage of evolution as an individual and a society without disruption or bloodshed,” Rath writes in the poet’s note.

In the poem ‘Coffee’, Rath talks about the lives of the busy professionals; while the poem ‘Desire’ is about fake recognition and glitter we see in the world around us. In the poem ‘Indian’, the word is used for “original inhabitants of a place” rather than of our country, comments about the present-day situation and world. Here are a few lines from the poem:

“My apt identity

To crawl in the wilds

Or glass chambers

With greed –

To seed civilisation

And for commerce.

I seek salvation

Of others

In the poverty

Of my mind

With power, wealth

And domination.”

Each poem is just a page or two long; readers can finish the book in one go or read a few poems a day. These minimalistic poems will make readers self-reflect and ponder about the realities today and where are we heading in the future. If you like reading poems, you can give this poetry collection a shot.

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