A space for verse, reflection and lingering.
Back Gnome
There’s a gnome that lives in my back,
leaning his pointy right elbow
into an unreachable nook
beneath my right shoulder blade.
He’s about a foot tall,
kneeling all that pressure of his left knee
into my vertebral column,
butt plopped
just above my left hip
on that squishy muscular tendon spot.
He’s two dimensional,
flat as a tapeworm,
thin but dense,
occupying the relatively narrow passages
within my skin.
Every morning he wakes up
for his sunrise exercises – like shake weights,
he places one hand at the top of my spine,
one hand near my tailbone, and
he shakes the spine,
not too hard,
just sound not pain,
concealing his exercises with my footsteps.
He’s not too strong yet,
but he will be.
Delaney Carson (MBA ’26)
Note from the poet: Rowing in college, I developed a back pain that acquired its own personhood as it persisted. Ignored and numbed by the rush of youth, the pain grew louder and developed a voice – a rattling sound at the base of my spine. It made its own intentions and identified its favorite places to roam. Years later, back at school, I still hear my old friend, though against my prediction, he’s quieter now.
My Courtyard, My Tree
My courtyard
How wide it was, how vast
The yard in which
All my games fitted so well
And in front of that yard stood that tree
Which was much taller than I
But
I was sure
That when I grew up
I would manage to touch the top of that tree
After so many years
I have come back home
And I see how small
My courtyard really is
But the tree is even a little taller
Than it was before
Javed Akhtar, translated from Urdu by David Matthews
Note from Unnati: Javed Akhtar is a legendary Indian poet and screenplay writer known for his audacity, charisma, and suave romance. I first met this poem six years ago at my first job. Then, it explored the complicated feelings of outgrowing the very place where dreams first took root – home. Six weeks into HBS, the poem whispered to me anew, revealing the familiar surprise that meets us at the summit of every ambition – the yearning for more. The tree is always a little taller than it was before.
Unnati Bose (MBA ’26) is originally from India but has called many places home. She graduated from Shri Ram College of Commerce with a degree in Economics. She has worked in social impact consulting, global health, and pharma. In her free time, she can be found asking questions of love, community, and popular culture on her substack, Uno’s Thought Scramble.
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