Wounds Into Words: The Poetics Of Survival In 'An Apology Long Overdue'

Poetry has long been the language of the dispossessed, the medium through which unspoken griefs and unhealed wounds find voice. It is in this tradition that Nikitha Ramanarayanan’s ‘An Apology Long Overdue’ emerges—not simply as a book of poems but as a lyrical excavation of sorrow, resilience, and the enduring struggle for justice.

This debut collection is a profound reckoning, a whispered yet unrelenting demand for acknowledgment. Through evocative imagery and unfiltered honesty, she weaves a narrative of suffering and survival, where memory becomes both a burden and an anchor at the same time. The poetry moves in reverse chronology, peeling back layers of existence, from grief-stricken ends to the fragile innocence of beginnings. It is, as the title suggests, an overdue apology—an offering to histories ignored, wounds unrecognised, and voices silenced.

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This is not just personal grief articulated in the verses. ‘An Apology Long Overdue’ expands its lament beyond the self, drawing deep from the well of collective suffering. The echoes of lost lands, broken homes, stolen futures, and the unyielding strength of the oppressed resonate throughout the collection. As with all powerful poetry, it refuses containment—it becomes a conduit, a vessel through which the lived experiences of many find articulation. In this sense, it is not just poetry; it is resistance.

Nikitha Ramanarayanan’s ‘An Apology Long Overdue’ opening page

A Structure That Mimics the Cycle of Struggle

The collection’s unique structure mirrors the cyclical nature of existence, moving backwards in time—starting with loss and concluding with a rediscovery of innocence. This inversion of time is more than a stylistic choice; it is a reclamation. In a world where narratives of suffering are often framed to suit the powerful, this poetry refuses to be confined within imposed timelines. It dares to rewrite, to resist erasure, and to reaffirm life in the face of death.

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The book is divided into five thematic sections: Grief for lives lost, lands taken, and histories erased. Despair for futures stolen and dreams deferred. Scars as testimonies of resilience, mapping survival through the body and the land. Love as resistance, as a force that defies occupation and oppression. Innocence as the beginning, a longing to reclaim what was once untouched by violence. Each section is marked by a deep engagement with lived trauma, but also an unflinching belief in the continuity of hope.

The Apology As Reckoning, As Resistance

The opening poem, Apology, sets the tone for the entire collection. It is an indictment, a lament, and a call for justice:

An apology to the roses that bled in the dark, their fragrance lost to the smoke of burning homes.
An apology to the wind that carried screams, only to be buried in the hollow of forgotten valleys.

Each line is a wound, a refusal to forget. This is not an abstract sorrow—it is tethered to land, to destruction, to the stolen and the disappeared. The images of burning homes, silenced voices, and buried dreams invoke the very real devastation of war, occupation, and forced displacement. It is a dirge for the dispossessed, one that reverberates across geographies.

Though Nikitha Ramanarayanan does not explicitly name Palestine, the echoes are undeniable. The weight of these words carries the sorrow of countless oppressed peoples—their lands razed, their histories rewritten, their grief rendered invisible. Here, poetry performs the act of bearing witness. In this way, An Apology Long Overdue stands as a literary act of solidarity, a refusal to allow silence to triumph.

The Olive Tree As A Metophore Of Survival

One of the most striking poems in the collection, Olive Leaves Never Topple Over, draws from a symbol that has long been at the heart of resistance narratives—the olive tree. Across Palestine and other lands marked by struggle, the olive tree stands as a testament to endurance. It is a living archive of loss and persistence.

The olive trees, weary sentinels, stand as witness, their leaves bruised, their roots clinging….
Yet amidst this frozen landscape, a seed of hope stirs within her. She dreams of sunlit groves, of laughter returning…

The poem transforms the olive tree into a metaphor for survival. It speaks to generations who have inherited struggle but refuse to be uprooted. The olive leaves, though battered, never fall. They bend, they quiver, but they remain. This imagery echoes Palestinian steadfastness, the concept of summed—a resilience that refuses to break despite occupation and erasure.

A Love Letter To Those Who Endure

While An Apology Long Overdue is steeped in grief, it is not without its moments of tenderness. Love, in this collection, is not just romantic—it is familial, communal, and deeply political. It is the love of those who continue to fight, who continue to dream despite the crushing weight of oppression.

…A strength so tender, gentle yet sleek,
A lullaby the heavens softly speak…

These lines, from A Meadow of Dreams, offer a quiet refuge amidst the storm. Here, love is not passive—it is an act of defiance. To love, despite despair, is itself a radical stance. The poetry reminds us that even in the darkest nights, there remains a spark—an ember that refuses to be extinguished.

The Body As A Site Of Memory

Another crucial thread in the collection is the treatment of the body as a repository of memory. The section Scars delves into this with unsettling clarity. The body, marked by wounds, becomes a living document of pain and endurance.

Here, wounds are not hidden but displayed as symbol of resistance.

This approach is reminiscent of the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, where the body, like the land, carries the scars of history. The poet reminds us that survival is not passive; it is an act of remembering. Each scar tells a story, each mark is a testament. In this way, the body, much like the land, refuses to forget.

A Call To Remember, A Refusal To Erase

At its core, An Apology Long Overdue is a poetry collection that demands memory. It resists erasure, insists on documentation, and compels us to acknowledge the histories we might otherwise turn away from. In doing so, it aligns itself with the tradition of poetry as resistance.

Nikitha Ramanarayanan’s debut is not merely a collection of poems—it is a declaration. It is a refusal to let loss be forgotten, a commitment to ensuring that grief is not muted but transformed into something indelible. As she writes:

‘Because to remember is to resist, and in resistance, we refuse to let history be erased.’

In a world where forgetting is often the easiest course, where the stories of the oppressed are rewritten or ignored, this collection stands apart. It is a literary act of defiance, a poetic form of protest. It is, above all, an acknowledgment that some apologies can never undo the past—but they must be spoken, nonetheless.

Final Thoughts: A Testament Of Our Times

An Apology Long Overdue is a vital work in contemporary poetry, one that bridges personal grief with collective struggle. It is a book that mourns, but it is also a book that fights. In its pages, we find sorrow, resilience, and—perhaps most importantly—hope.

For readers who seek poetry that does more than merely describe pain, and who look for verses that engage with the political realities of loss, this collection is essential. It is a mirror to our times, a document of suffering and survival, and ultimately, the symphony of hope to those who refuse to disappear….

The olive leaves never fall,
they bend, they quiver,
but they never topple over.
They are a promise, a hymn, whispering that better days will come….

(Nazarullah Khan, Assistant Professor in Journalism and Mass Communication at Safi Institute of Advanced Study (Autonomous), Vazhayoor, Kerala, is a passionate educator shaping future communicators through his expertise and mentorship. Beyond academia, he is an actor, writer, poet and film mentor, blending creativity with teaching to offer a unique perspective on media and storytelling.)