Month: October 2018

The schedule of the day,

at home in the mornings

outings in the evenings

a contradiction of the regular,

is how I live in this alien land.

 

I should not say alien anymore

as  I live half the year or even excess

in this country for over a decade.

Of late, rains come at dusk

play spoil sport to my  walks.

 

They pour with force terrible,

last for an hour or more,

light recedes and it is night.

I dare not go out in dark

there is widespread theft.

 

The whole day for a week

I stay at home behind locked doors.

The windows, with grills and heavy curtains,

allow  me to peep through and perceive

the outer world.  I hear  the noise of vehicles.

 

My neighbours cast a curious look

when I get into the garden to pluck

curry leaves and pick the milk can.

No wonder I am at home wherever

I go. More so in the literal sense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The old gives way to new.

A symptom seen significant.

The  ancient gets behind.

The ĺatest is in the limelight.

 

Elders groan and cry hoarse.

The youth revel and rejoice.

A competition  sets in.

Not a healthy one at any level.

 

The intolerance of the seniors

confronts  the irreverence of the juniors.

There arises an uneasiness, unpleasantness

being incompetent in any respect.

 

Old is a concept beautiful

turns  obsolete more or less.

New is a syndrome lovely

becomes valid in days to come.

 

The grand old man

has to accept with grace.

The enthusiastic adult

should agree with poise.

 

A truce wii bring peace.

Tradition gives way to modernity.

So  must the aged and the young,

confirm and evolve a via media

 

Domestic chores tire me.

At times I am disheveled.

Throw the towel in exasperation.

When will I be free?

I am inconsolable.

 

 

 

I  turn indignant. Show

my anger on doors, vessels.

Bang the doors. Slam the pots,

push the ladles.

 

It is confusion. The vegetable stew

burns, the potato fry is charred,

the milk boils. To lay them straight

I dash and miss my step.

 

I skid. Balance with an effort.

Meanwhile, the lunch remains

scorched. Have to cook again.

Anger diffuses. I am downcast.

 

Frustration suffocates.

 

 

 

 

 

It is too long a day,

having got up early,

unusual of me of recent.

Am free with no responsibility.

 

I have no  school going children,

nor do  have any demand,

rather any engagement important

leisurely lethargic I have turned.

 

Today, not significant, anyway

I am up already, all set

as if for a venture, busy looking

at my watch now and then.

 

What for? I am ready

I do not know for real.

Could this a precursor

to an unknown ecstasy?

 

Might be, I presume.

Spend the day excited.

Am at peace. Will accept

that which  comes with

an open mind. Nothing more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A dog on the other side of the fence

turns and rolls on the grass.

Curious I watch her through an hedge.

 

She is full. Find her tossing.

Writhing in pain, perhaps.

Feel it is the end stage of labour.

Her eyes emit anger.

 

I want  to assist her.

Scared, I dare not.

Helpless  and unable

to stand, I return.

 

Few  minutes after, I hear

a scream then a hush.

Peep through the window,

four pink puppies  nestle close.

 

Hurrah! I cry.

Joyful to  see the little ones.

Birth delights.  A bliss to witness

life in its nascent  moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I say to myself

not once but many times.

It is being a chorus

I repeat on and off.

 

Saying so I go ahead.

Push myself to complete

undergo a lot  of strain.

It is a practice that kills,

plays havoc — a devastation.

 

I try my best to come out.

A discipline, Icreated,

places me in a pinnacle,

I work hard to achieve

drains  the energy.

 

Unable to sustain

I mumble that has

to be done anyhow.

Habits die hard.

Mine will last, I suppose

until  the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hail to my mother  tongue.

Has words for every detail,

every relationships, every feeling

a rarity in other languages

 

Uncles, maternal and paternal

have different connotations,

so do aunts, sisters and brothers

elder and younger.

 

Happiness, grief, take expressions

deliver dramatics at times

veiled in most circumstances

interesting in a way.

 

It is Tamil, an ancient dialect,

extends a sway unparalleled.

Sense a pride of belonging

unable to draft in verse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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