Archive · 14 Sep 2026
Five Poems Turn Suffering Into Cosmic, Surreal Visions
These five poems look at frightening and strange parts of being alive.
They describe evening as if the whole world were watching itself.
Lilith appears as a powerful figure who exists outside ordinary human rules and words.
In “Abduction,” a poet walks into the sea and disappears.
“On Nightmares” mixes dreams with waking life, fear and different identities.
The speaker also mentions skipping paroxetine, a medicine.
In “Currant,” a small stone seems to contain a secret as large as the universe.
Together, the poems show people facing forces they cannot fully understand or control.
Aakriti Kuntal’s five poems explore suffering, fear, death and the limits of language.
“Evening” transforms sunset into a precise, eerie cosmic process watching over life.
“Lilith” presents a powerful, unsettling presence beyond language, forgiveness and human judgment.
“Abduction” depicts a poet entering the sea and never returning, amid images of bodily and natural absurdity.
“On Nightmares” and “Currant” connect dreams, medication, identity and a mysterious stone with overwhelming physical and cosmic forces.
- Who
- Poet Aakriti Kuntal wrote the poems.
- What
- The excerpt presents five surreal poems about suffering, death, dreams, language, nature and cosmic absurdity.
- Where
- The poems are excerpted from the book Night breaks apart, like pomegranate seeds in my palm, published by Seagull Books.
- Why
- They explore the unsettling relationship between human experience, bodily fear, nature, myth and forces beyond human judgment.
- Author
- Aakriti Kuntal
- Number of poems
- Five
- Poem titles
- “Evening,” “Lilith,” “Abduction,” “On Nightmares” and “Currant”
- Book
- Night breaks apart, like pomegranate seeds in my palm
- Publisher
- Seagull Books
- Central themes
- Suffering, absurdity, dreams, death, language and cosmic forces
- Publication status
- Excerpted with permission