Cracked Asphalt seeks to untangle the strings of guilt Sree Sen found herself wrapped in after her move from Mumbai, India to Dublin, Ireland. What is home, beyond concrete, relationships and postal addresses? Born out of worn-out soles, when Sen went fundraising door-to-door in Dublin, these poems are a personal exploration of fractured identities and the essence of 'home'.
Sample poem:
sour apples
the apple tree at home bears tart fruits as a child, I'd been warned-
sour mouth crevices juices dripping along elbow lines pitted seeds longing for the worm to break through.
at home, it's tart, the apples worthless in the marketplace almost evil but not in pies
i'd climb high for the one beyond my reach risk a scolding. tart fruits
apples at home, two decades later the old tree hangs head in shame an incomplete mother, the worm feasted upon, blossoms betraying each branch birthing a perfect error.
