When I rang in the morning, amma asked ‘who is it?’

‘who is it’
In the same voice that she used in the olden days
Worried that she would have to serve coffee and snacks
When Jinu, Pradeep, Riyaz came calling

Amma, it is not the nair boy nor Pradeep from pallippuram, nor the Muslim boy Riyaz,
It is your son

‘who is it’

Amma, this is me,
What else shall I say?
Your son.

What other title do I have

Your Youngest
Born in old age
One who is supposed to look after his amma
Who left home
Who lived as he pleased
Who married without consent from those at home
Who failed many exams
Who used to wander around with strangers
Who used to drink and shout obscenities at the clergy

The butcher knife in amma’s chest

When again the question ‘who is it’
Falls in my ears,
Amma, what should I say?

The dark one of yesteryears became fair
Because of not going in the sun, amma
I cannot become dark even if I pretend, amma

I drank and drank and got all swollen up, amma
I smoked and smoked and became tired, amma
I shouted and shouted and became hoarse, amma
I read and read poems and overflowed, amma..

When amma asks again ‘who is it’
As though she didn’t know anything

I felt like answering I have become Thadiyantavida Naseer, having read too much news
I felt like answering that I have become A P Abdullakkutti  having hankered after whatever I heard and saw
I felt like answering that I have become MA Yusuf Ali, tallying accounts again and again
I felt like answering I have become Kunjhalikkutty, having lusted after everyone I saw
Who is it, who is it, when the voice cracks asking, what more am I to say

Amma, who are you?

Why do you start as though you heard the question ‘who is the father?”

Do crows still visit the breadfruit tree on the northern side, amma?
Do you still scold, ‘hey breadfruit tree, you little minx, do not fall before you are grown enough!’, amma?

Is amma listening?
Do you understand?

What about Biran?
After his girl got married,
After his boy went to the gulf,
Biran doesn’t come
He is prosperous now,
Good fish are not available nowadays..

…

Was the tamarind tree fruitful this year, amma?
Did you dry the tamarind to make it into cakes to preserve it, amma?

Cannot down a morsel without buttermilk
In the morning, when I looked, all sourness was lost
moreover, the milk got curdled
…
Amma, wont you get up fast
Don’t we have to go to church?

There are lots of people there
There are lots of people there

I have taken the matchbox
Buy two candles (small, cheap ones)
Come, I will be here
It has been long since you lighted a candle for your father

…

I wrote my name
At the tip of a huge tree in our genealogy

It sways in a gentle wind

Brethren with whom I grew up
Say that it is because
Of  intoxication

People say it is acting the fool
Some say that all that is needed is a beating

…

On the roots of a huge tree in the genealogy, amma,
You sprout little greens of new awareness

Still even in heavy winds

Your children, fruits of your womb, who knew the labour you went through
say it is because  you are not in your right mind

People say it is acting the fool
Those who watch recommend tying up

Amma,
for me
and you,
what is consciousness,

Dear Shruti, wish you a very Happy Friendship Day!
Forever, do you keep negativity at bay
I love you as a friend
We share a deeply emotional bond
You, can I trust with anything and everything
To me, does your friendship mean everything!

Dear Shruti, wish you a very Happy Friendship Day
May you always be happy, come what may
You are **** intelligent and hardworking
A person who stops at absolutely nothing
To get the job done
Never, will you be alone!!

Dear Shruti, wish you a very Happy Friendship Day
Many a time, are you away
However, never does that stop you from caring
Whether it be family or friends
You are a person, to whom can I go on listening
May your long talks never end!!

Dear Shruti, wish you a very Happy Friendship Day
I hope you had a wonderfully relaxing day
After all the hard work you have put in
Moreover, do you also do your very best
To keep yourself fit, time and again
May you clear with flying colours, every single test
Which life throws at you
Forever, will I be there, to help you!!

Dear Shruti, wish you a very Happy Friendship Day
Always will I root for you and Pradeep, come what may
The two of you are among my favourite couples
Your parents are also a beautiful couple
By the way, you are not simply my friend
My unofficial sister, you are
And for you and your family, will I always care
May Jesus bless you, you amazing human being
With anything and everything
Which you deeply desire
Do take care
And hope to meet you soon
Dear Shruti, wish you the Happiest Friendship Day again!!

Spring is in the air
so is love and hope
air warm and welcoming
fields a parsley-green
happy calves lowing in the fields
a carnival of scents linger in the air
daisies and edelweiss scatter the meadows
feeding happily on strands
of  light beams from the sky
nodding and dancing
in appreciation and delight
an optimist is the human personification of spring
like nature's fight to bring forth
new life, new beginning, a new order,
spelling death of winter
may death and disease
be doomed too
and bring life to life in 2021

-pradeep