'No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.' ~Vladimir Nobakov
Toska
By: Akhilesh Agarwal
(i)
Take me home
No, drag me
By my skin and bones
Pull off my clothes
Let the sand burn through
I am greedy
To feel the threshold pass me
I will hold all your chains
Until you feel I am worthy.
(ii)
Open-mouthed star, sleeping galaxy
Shake away the dust, let meteors fall
You can strip away layer each
And still have parts left to reach.
(iii)
Fathoms deep, the ocean fills me
Occupying sinuses, coagulating my being
But with every breathe I heave
I only hope you embrace me.
