She does not pull me;
My universe leans toward her on its own.
Dr. Shailesh Gupta Veer is a bilingual poet, critic, editor, and literary activist from Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh. Trained as an archaeologist (Ph.D.), he brings scholarly depth and a wide human vision to his creative work. Writing fluently in Hindi and English, Dr. Veer’s poetry and essays are noted for their originality, emotional intensity, ethical engagement, and philosophical insight. His English poems—among them “Become Firefly,” “No Need for Another Sea,” “Centuries Later,” “Between Two Thrilling Moments,” “The Lone Warrior,” “I Have to Stop,” and “Yellow Magic”—have won international readership for their plainspoken lyricism and universal resonance. “Become Firefly” was featured in an international peace exhibition in Israel. His work has been translated into many languages, including Chinese, Greek, German, French, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew, Serbian, Croatian, Persian, Albanian, Portuguese, Azerbaijani, Nepali, and Punjabi, underscoring his growing global presence. An active editor and mentor, Dr. Veer has edited about two dozen books and several magazines. He is the founding editor of Micropoetry Cosmos and The Fatehpur Resolution, platforms through which he champions contemporary voices and emerging writers. In 2018 he was named a “Literary Icon” by the Nigerian television program You and Literature Today, and he has received numerous national and international honors for his contributions to poetry and criticism. Email: veershailesh@gmail.com
The Gravity of Her
Her surname and mine are not the same,
Yet when I read it, when I see it,
A sweet smile rises to my face, unbidden.
My heart lights up.
People say,
“You’re mad with love for her.”
I have no words to deny them.
They are not wrong.
I know we are nothing
Beyond the faint lines of friendship.
Still, I love her—
The way she rises, sits, walks,
The way she laughs, speaks, converses.
That is why I bow
To every syllable she utters.
Disagreement dies before it forms;
To agree with her is my only prayer.
Call it not love—
The word is too small, too loud.
This is gravity.
Wordless
Weightless
Absolute.
She does not pull me;
My universe leans toward her on its own.
All my clever words desert me
When she appears.
Only one remains:
She is the best.
And that is enough.
_________________
Read: The Lone Warrior
