Saanya Chopra
I
boundless infiltration
i wince
at the uncertainty of where i start,
and where i cease
my skin itches at the not knowing,
the boundary between my self
and the soil
when i lay
in the field
of airy blond grass
and delicate florals,
by sudden reflex,
my hands tighten into fists
at the invasion
led by ants and other
microscopic travellers
who explore my body
without consent
i feel
even my body
does not belong
to me
it is
a complex concept;
“home,”
simultaneously a physical and emotional site,
something that i have craved
to visit,
even if just
for a week,
but for now, i remain a nomad
with no way of knowing
what i could have claimed
as mine
to begin with
II
uprooted
culled
acaulescent
barefoot
dirty toes
it’s not my fault
regrowth
new growth
pruning again
it’s not my fault
skin shed
soil bed
home to ecosystems
worms and berries
this is my new home
it’s not my fault
III
planting
seeding
praying
give
giving
kneeling
sacrifice
faith
ubiquitous
rhizomatous
sarcomatous
fabric of life
strings and knots
roots
nerve endings
never-ending
a part of you
and me
IV
notice yourself
moving through
the ritual of
mindfulness and fruitfulness
notice how you
encode,
encase,
exercise
your body
into the gestures
between yourself and the mulch
write your gratitudes
in water,
and kiss the tomatoes
once they’ve come up to get some air
V
i am the womb you crave,
i know you have missed
your mother’s
from time to time
but you forget
mine is yours, as well
i am the womb you have missed so dearly;
warm,
protecting,
gentle,
nourishing,
care-taking,
safe—
i am safe.
you are
safe,
put down the axe,
and i can keep you safe
Saanya Chopra (b. 2001) is an Indian Canadian emerging artist currently based in Ottawa, exploring the languages of painting, object-making, and poetics. Chopra’s practice investigates the poetics of the vulnerability found in deconstruction, and consequently renewal, often in the context of identity, displacement, belonging, and absence. As a second-generation Canadian, cultural identity and our relationship(s) to our environment and body are ongoing questions contemplated in her works. Chopra’s work has been published in literary magazines in the Ottawa-Gatineau region such as flo. Literary Magazine (2022) and she was awarded the Ottawa Art Gallery Award of Excellence (2023) within her BFA at the University of Ottawa.