Maze

so there was this

dream i had last night

that i was lost in a labyrinth

and was trying to find you

amid a web of walls that

disappeared

and

reappeared

and because i couldn’t find

you

i kept palm-prints on

smooth white surfaces

which recorded them in blood

so i would not search

again and again

for you behind

the same old walls

but the palm prints disappeared

seconds after

they appeared

quickly, like the ending of dreams

so there was no ending

to my search for you

and no beginning

to my finding you.

(From Stitch Your Eyelids Shut)

Diplomatic

At a diplomatic gathering

an ambassador’s wife

smiles sweetly

as I’m introduced as a poet

(a term I’ll always wear

like a size 14 dress

on my size 8 frame)

I smile back

embarrassed

hoping I can talk about the weather

the cricket world cup final

which we might win

or the war

which no one will

but her next question’s one of

mild surprise

“you write in English?”

and my smile turns

apologetic

for a reason that can’t find its voice

in poetry or prose

so I nod a diplomatic yes

and grab a drink from

a passing tray.

(April, 2007) - From Stitch Your Eyelids Shut

New Year 2008

In the early hours

of a new year

bursts of firecrackers

penetrated

cold December air

the smell of gunpowder

and renewed hope

rose high

and

sound couldn’t quite separate

fake fire from real

as a man lay dead

from a bullet to the chest

at a kovil in Colombo

Where he was

praying for peace.

(From Stitch your Eyelids Shut Colombo, Akna: 2010)