Devika Todi > Quotes

“Last I remember a beat in my body
My heart felt warm
Lazy, and yellow
Maybe that was love.”
― Devika Todi, Sun On My Hands: A Poetry and Prose Collection

“But maybe, I miss who I was.
The capacity I held to be myself.
Beyond the burden of years, and silent deaths of versions
That no longer hold true.”
― Devika Todi

“In a gush, In a rush
Stories flow from
One generation to another.
Hands of power hold

Fist tight
Hopes of a different world.”
― Devika Todi

“Newspapers are printing blank.
White ink on white paper.
Gospel truths of humanity spilled.
But no one can read. No one cares to read.
We switch to blue screens for meaning.”
― Devika Todi, Sun On My Hands: A Poetry and Prose Collection

“My plants are drying in the garden- despite the rain
And love I give them. Maybe they need something more to live.
Their existence, not as easy as I see them with poet’s eyes.
Maybe they also dream of planets and the endless darkness of space.”
― Devika Todi

“Memories have a strange way
Of interrupting your day.”
― Devika Todi

“Cold buildings stand as we shiver within.”
― Devika Todi, Dreaming in A Fish Bowl

“In tough moments when I feel myself paralyse
Scared to move, move on
I remind myself that
We don’t know what lies ahead.

The only thing that we can do,
Is, well
Move, move on.”
― Devika Todi

“We never tire to move on
Even if the world falls. The sky is falling right in front of my window.
Everything begins and ends right here.
A point.”
― Devika Todi, Sun On My Hands: A Poetry and Prose Collection

“I have been devoured whole
By mouths that open to scream.
Canines push into a tender mind,
Blood rushes in where thoughts are born.”
― Devika Todi, Dreaming in A Fish Bowl

“I have always loved the thought
Of my art blooming like petals
In someone’s mind,
Till they too
Are plucked and wither
With time.”
― Devika Todi, Sun On My Hands: A Poetry and Prose Collection

“Through phones,
And eyes
I live this life.
Everything is fine.

Suddenly, it cracked
My screen.
Pixels gave way to colours unseen.
Distorted vision, a blur of emotions.

I felt unseen. Now I can’t see.”
― Devika Todi

“The sky is swelling with clouds
And colours. It is a white day today.”
― Devika Todi, Sun On My Hands: A Poetry and Prose Collection

“Having almonds never saved me as I
Now forget capital cities, equations, language.
Lost to algorithm, brain rot, world rot
I remember my last thought all too well:
Do you know what is happening?”
― Devika Todi

“Imagine a room
With six walls and a ceiling
Two full of windows
Two full of mirrors
And two cream walls that could easily be mistaken as being painted by light.
Each morning, the scorching sun enters the room
And fills each corner till it is overflowing-
The windows give and take sunlight
(There is no escape door or breather).
The mirrors burn and blind
All the walls are fires of their own.
In that choking space, you have a small table fan to your name.

Calcutta summer for you.”
― Devika Todi

“My plants have started growing brains, too.
They ask me questions I don’t know the answers to.
Maybe it is time for them to attend school.
And get used to the existence and dimensions of time.”
― Devika Todi

“My life bring me to this world.
My life brings this world to me.”
― Devika Todi, Sun On My Hands: A Poetry and Prose Collection

“I walk on two legs
And hide my question mark tail-
Like I hide my questions.”
― Devika Todi, Dreaming in A Fish Bowl

“Even tiny plants experience autumn.”
― Devika Todi, Dreaming in A Fish Bowl

“What colour do you see when you wake up?
What is the last colour that touches you when you sleep?”
― Devika Todi

“Parallel lives in the fabric of time
Muted existence in a pixelated lifestyle.”
― Devika Todi, Dreaming in A Fish Bowl

“Hours of the past melt away
Burning in a middle night.
Cyclones of solitude dance on my head-
I am an atmosphere in whole.”
― Devika Todi

“I can taste the staleness of a lie
As I chew your words and make them mine.”
― Devika Todi

“Every day, we hold the fragility of life
In between fingers.
Supple, giving, forgiving.”
― Devika Todi

“Past, present, is discussed in a way that feels new.
The future is uncertain, as it has always been.
Roles have shifted. Creases of worry line pass.

So what remains?
Love, I guess.”
― Devika Todi

“A sip of cold syrup from
Ice cream between my lips
My tongue is the colour of
Pinks and artificial purples”
― Devika Todi, Sun On My Hands: A Poetry and Prose Collection

“The moon is a mood spread across the city
Half empty, half full
She comes and goes- I wonder why”
― Devika Todi, Dreaming in A Fish Bowl

“Hands that have known love
How can they be so cold to touch?
Maybe, they are in a frosty layer of loneliness.
Can you offer them a cup of hot tea?”
― Devika Todi

“Do you ever feel like a stranger to your skin?
A language feels known to the ear, but alien on the tongue?
Thoughts are shaped and reshaped in words of the colonizer.
Clothes of the other world are made to fit your size?”
― Devika Todi

“Bony fingers stretch outside my windows.
Towards the sky, they climb.
Growing in digits, in strength.
Ivory bones are formed
In moonlight.”
― Devika Todi