They are leaving today, the immigrants!
The road they were building is incomplete,
But the trees lie uprooted , withering cupped leaves
On spread out branches begging.to die.
The sun is reluctant today,
I ask him why.
"Will you shine on me this fall?"
"I will try" he said,
"But you live beyond the high wall"

Dear son I am dying
So you may live!
I couldn't pay for your son's school fees,
The deepawali sweets and crackers
And your wife's saree,
Nor could I buy you the500cc
Enfield Bullet.I had promised.
My revised pension hasn't yet come.
They have told me to wait,
But I know you can't.
Deepawali crackers are costlier this year
With the boycott of Chinese goods
A big price for patriotism.
My friends tell me that if I die
They will turn me
Into a symbol,
Something very big and important.
Somewhere elections are just round the corner,
There will be a statue
And money and job for you.
They say.
I must die for you to live.
I have lived my life.
Sorry son, I had much to say
But they tell me to hurry.
The facilitator has another appointment to keep
If only I could go with a bullet in my heart
And a few pakis at my feet
And not a sip from the hemlock tree!
Do not gamble with the money you get,
This Deepawali, pay Dipu's fees,
Buy a plot of land,
Take mother to Haridwar.
And yes, get the money and the job
Immediately after I die,  least they forget.
They will promise the world.
They will come, don't worry, make them pay,
Insects always do when there is light.

They call me

I must go

You live..

I had never lived
Until I had known fear.
Life was a blurry rush
Until fear slowed it down
Very slow,
For reflection
And dissection.
You have to fear death
To cling to life sufficiently.
The Count got it wrong, you see.

I can no longer sing
They have taken my voice away
I cannot write
They have chopped my fingers
The lies, your lies and theirs
Threaten to wrench away my life.
What would you do or
What would you say?
Debate, take out a rally,
Score brownie points with friends
On WhatsApp and facebook
Sipping on the finest scotch.
They didn't take my eyes away,
Nor my legs. I can see and run
Just run and run
I run..

The old man is dead
His two shadows and the apparition
Looking on anxious,horrified and relieved.
Finally the son is of any use
Lighting the pyre emboldened by the fire
Raging in his throat and belly

Lived so alone with the two shadows
And the apparition. But, a jolly crowd
To bathe his sins and embalm his skin
With ghee. Tea and *** passing hands,
***** and tobacco smoke unlocking
The mind. Nephew in epiphany, discovers
The soul did not escape through the mouth
But through the *******!
Defective death, needs prayashchit.

13 days! Too long to atone for a
Life time of neglect! The kulin  hands
The old man chose for his only son
Finally stirs, a feast for the departed soul
Offered at twilight under a banyan tree
By the holy bank.
Ahhh! Moksha!
I wonder, for whom.
The apparition struggles to raise a hand,
A cry, while the shadows melt away.

I fall upon the thorns of life I bleed,
But, I never was as strong as he
Nor did I drink life to the lees
I am happy to have my wife by my side,
The child playing with me
And see the baby smile.
But, alas cruel fate!
I have no kingdom to bequeath,
Nor any spark to ignite new minds.
No intended harm,nor malice,
No quest for success, only peace.
Destiny please don't test me,
I am tired and spent,
Just let me go gently into the good night.



I