A SWEEP

 

I sum of the current fifty-four years
nineteen thousand and seven hundred days
the near split
cuddled, fed and protected
grew to hundred and sixty-five centimetres.

Days and centimetres of life twisted as a herringbone
fogged truant brain relishing hide and seek
negativity varnishing inches of malice
mirror shrinking reflection a few centimetres
guilt strapping the stress.

Some days, scrubbed squeaky clean
monsters of misdeeds on a soporific break
lathery foam toting up in air
obsequiously touching some with kindness.
Image stretching the shrunk centimetres
beaming smile of towering happiness
as the bloom of the jacarandas.

The impish youth, the helmetless rides
the banned triples on scooter
foolish grins at traffic police
puncturing teacher's bikes
blind to repercussions


peeping grey streaks, henna at the roots
Camera fooled, poses galore, striving side angles
camouflaged bulges, coated wrinkles
the indiscreet youth smirking
Reel swipes fast forward

The supportive mother, the thoughtful daughter
the friendly sister, the reliable wife
the irritating mother, the sulking daughter
the mischievous sibling, the nagging wife
the uncensored acts of my script

Abseiling towards twenty thousand days
incapacitated to decipher number of
centimetres partitioned for light and darkness
Mathematics, the textbook donated after tenth grade

Juggling after half a century on the planet
still decoding, remonstrating, rising, sulking, smiling
some encounters with self surprise me
and some nag as buzz of cicadas.

Muscling to move on, competent to realise
subtraction or division incompletes me.
Addition and multiplication of goodness
forms a perfect whole of holes.

CIRCLE

Painted nails, henna filled palms,

masculine palm, the shiny golden ring

radiant grins holding garlands,

friends and cousins, their present cheer leaders.

Respective groups lifting the bride and groom,

none bowing, the giggly peals accompanying the music,

the hall in all its splendour, guests clapping and cheering,

at long last, both garland the other, both sides claiming the win.

Hands clasped, some chrysanthemum petals,

stuck on their attires, they seek blessings,

fat garlands stopping their necks,

weight of marriage too early to decipher.

Stitched white and yellow chrysanthemums, 

bloomed apart yet bound,

suiting the newly wedded couple.

Sneaking red and pink roses 

their streaks heightening the wedding glow.

The adorned hall of jasmines and marigolds

the bedecked stage of lilies and tuberoses

the wedded pair's circle of life begins, 

aroma of mixed reactions, the perfect backdrop.

The flowers wither, the garlands tossed aside.

Duty carried out, shrivelled flowers, 

bid adieu to the bride and groom,

hoping the pair rehearse the

tender symphony of trust and warmth.

Shrunken they may be one day like the garlands,

yet should guard each seam and stitch of the

beauty of togetherness.

MOODS

Lips rounding to squeeze the juicy mango,
licking pulp streaming down fingers,
humming flies on the bin outside
looking for their share of peels.
Water cooler's thirst for buckets of water
pickled mango pieces filling ceramic pots
school books lazing on shelves,
hot afternoons
cajoling snoring siestas.


Wet mud on shoes, bicycle itching for a daily shower,
frogs polishing their singing on little puddles.
Slithery earthworms sneaking through front door,
dripping umbrellas fluttering in wet winds
screeching cars spraying puddle water,
pedestrians gifting expletives to the driver.
Mum's vexation at damp clothes and the hiding sun
Showers assembling the family,
for crispy fritters and hot cardamom tea
Rains, a moist break
for caked earth and denizens.


Teeth grinding refusing to be brushed,
the tap spouting cold water.
Fingers hugging hot cups of milk,
refusing to let go, woollens filling the cupboard.
Scribbling letters on foamy glass windows
other rooms envious of the kitchen
bouncing hot soupy slurps and aromas,

familial warmth tucked in various layers. 

COASTLINE

Beaches of crevice in every relationship

pricking granular thoughts tombing castles.

The saline sting rupturing the human core,

pebbled cobwebs tossing the mossy ache.

Every individual a marooned island

entangled in their own web,

cargo of bonds too heavy to slither,

drifting brains scouting for a balmy anchor.

The barnacles of attachments 

the inborn lull easily contaminated.

The sun glistening the mirage of waves, 

the pacifying cove luring the agitated buoy.

Some voyages end, piled at sea bottom,

the other's still sailing, their sandy footprints,

rehearsing residual lives.

VULNERABLE

Teeming millions blood glistening the mighty black soles

destinies minced in the polish of that one despot,

contours and jaw lines vary. 

Blitzing power and hatred, the perfect manure,

irrigating acres of stone heart massive enough to lather ego.

Innocent lives forming the fodder, their fates calligraphed,

a tyrant's lust for his own karma. 

Roofs and walls incapacitated to shield the proletariat,

metamorphosis of embedded wails and shrieks 

fortunes hitting rock bottom,  

some tiny hands deciphered, some orphaned,

some limbless, wonder where they went wrong.

Ravenous appetite for pages in history syllabus

despots amass masses, puncturing heartbeats on the way.

Countable faint breaths rasp in agony,

only to be figured just as a word in syllabus.

The shoe varies, size changes, times change,

the commoner remains the same, the whole world on his platter,

unaware mortals just a tap away, no blemish on the shoe,

their karmas entwined for a faceless doom. 

My Indian train journeys

 The frenzy of assisting parents in packing suitcases,

the pleasure of jumping on them till it clamps tight

the thrill of shutting all doors and windows

me and my sister bidding bye to our bedroom

frantic search for tiny locks and exact keys for all suitcases.

The rickshaw slowly pulling at the station to the smell of salted cut mango peices

and tangy puffed rice in paper cones

The endless tug at mom for the 25 paise coin to check weight till the train arrives

Counting of the compartments till the train stops

The excitement to occupy the window seat and stretch hands out 

Catching the train at the bend watching the engine puff and cough.

Groping teen eyes reading the names of co passengers stuck on compartment door,

wishing for some handsome guy to be a co traveller for the 24 hour journey

the disappointment at seeing aged men and ladies 

the thrill to buy Archie novels and Pai comics at  A.H Wheeler bookshops on stations

the feel of home bedsheet on train's berth and dozing off 

to awaken to different train announcements.

Listening to Dad's continuous chatter with other passengers,

the enjoyment of eating along with co- passengers, 

sharing each other's delicacies, eagerly climbing up and down the 

top and lower berth

playing cards and reading new town names pass by

drinking tea from little hot earthen pots

fritters and pancakes guys selling food on our faces

the lovely aromas too hard to resist.

The scanning for the uncle who used to come to receive,

the hugs and giggles, the ride back to their home, 

the beginning of the summer holidays.

 

Bend faces on screens, wires, earpods and cables for company

the conversations with rectangular inanimate objects,

pouts, clicks and selfies, posts, likes and insta uploads

the new journey of today's teens.

MANGLE

 

Flibbertigibbet, gossip and chatter seated on a bench, 

query each other, "What do we have in common."

The singsong chorus echoes "repetitive letters in each word".

The reiterative trait resembling human nature, 

draining energies in its indulgence, a daily itinerary for many,

a difficult practice to shrug off, eroding smoothness in many a relationship.

Men pointing fingers at women for perfecting the art,

office vending machines, smoking alleys begging to differ.

Majority relishing it's flavours, a few handfuls skimming the veracity.

Egoistic mind enjoying its spread, juicy punches promoting facial exercise,

coffins and funerals insufficiently strewing gossips of the dead,

breathing mortals stitching it over time.

Social media, news, its newfound besties,

day or night, any corner of the globe,

scandals on sandals trot and quench 

mundane insatiable appetite for oxytocin.

One breeds the other, hearsays multiply,

written words displace countless canards,

history rewritten and taught,

rumour mocks at the real truth,

binned in the park's litter.