Toska

'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.