The Princess

Captured by Vishal is the ending of a Hindi play called “Shatranj Ke Khiladi” presented by the Bay Area Naatak Company (naatak.org) on June 9, 2023.

She was a princess,
sitting by the tithe barn,
counting the cracks in the walls,
of the Warwick castle.

There, in a boat on a lake,
making my way to the motte,
where the castle stood;
Fortified neatly like my heart

I was marksman.
And at the break of the morning,
I practiced in your estate,
hidden behind the palisade.

No matter where my arrow landed,
it always landed on the target,
in the field of your merciful hesitation,
like a good bacterial culture.