#wayofliving
On my watch, worn the wrong way
around my wrist, I see what time it is
in Mumbai, five and a half hours
later than where I live
It's only a quarter of a day's difference
but on visits to my family there
with friends on the beach, or
walking along the promenade
licking a kulfi ice cream
I am years more modern and smarter
than here in England, where
the students live in a way
that has no future in India
I can read the time upside down
but I remain old-fashioned myself
and do not jump from there
to here, from expectations
to daily worries
May 7
May 7, 2026 at 2:26 AM UTC
Don't walk there
says uncle, you know it
says father, you don't want
to sink into the ****
We dare to go right up to
the edge of the pit and shift
our weight to feel
the ground move
The privy is at the back, against the house:
a cubicle with a round peephole
in the door, on a sump
that Uncle Joe comes to empty
Together with the dipper
he does the pit, pails
through the kitchen and hallway
to the cart with the **** barrel
And then we mop
The building is too old
to be connected
to the sewer system
and will be demolished
but there is no other home
for us yet, and until then
it is just our home
Nov 5, 2025
Nov 5, 2025 at 3:59 AM UTC
But why do we live
in such a way that we feel --
we're lacking in love?
Mar 19, 2025
Mar 19, 2025 at 3:21 AM UTC
The dinner table
is stylishly set, spotless --
Sorry, except me.
Nov 4, 2024
Nov 4, 2024 at 2:57 AM UTC
With the scouts I build
a good cooking fire, that is --
having my hat on.
Jan 10, 2024
Jan 10, 2024 at 2:50 AM UTC
I know decency,
I know, later I too will --
behave properly.
Nov 5, 2023
Nov 5, 2023 at 3:45 AM UTC