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Three Poems

Illustration by Copilot Designer


1.     Anachronism

Ekalavya is eager to learn

Unlike his contemporaries

Who are buried in digital graves.

 

‘What’s anachronism?’ He queries.

‘Anachronism is,’ says Bharadvaja,

He pauses, muses, and pronounces:

‘Sita Devi’s chastity was questioned

By a barber named Al Ansari bin Laden,

According to the latest grave-digging

Of Archaeological Survey of India.’

 

 

2.     Exorcist

 

History textbooks are haunted by the ghosts

Of Akbar and Babur and Gandhi and Nehru.

So the Prime Minister decides to become

The Exorcist of the nation

In order to save Ekalavyas

From graves that refuse to be

Closed by sward shroud.

 

 

3.     Redemption

 

Ekalavya opens his new history textbook.

Words look like petrifying ghosts

That want blood, Ekalavya’s blood.

So he chooses to leave his country

And settle down in Trudeau’s Canada.

At least.



PS. 2024 was a year in which I didn't write any poem at all. That realisation made me feel sad. Is poetry dying within me? That's why I decided to write these lines... I don't know if there's poetry in them. You decide. 

Comments

  1. AmbicaDecember 29, 2024 at 11:42 AM

    I'm surprised they haven't caught on to you! Exorcist indeed, let's create a new country, why migrate :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalDecember 29, 2024 at 7:04 PM

      I'm not migrating, Ambica. My students are. I think the youngsters have understood that they have no reason for hope here.

      Delete
  2. sathishDecember 29, 2024 at 3:18 PM

    I liked the answer for Anachronism.. Oh btw, I read Al as AI (artificial intelligence) !!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yamini MacLeanDecember 29, 2024 at 3:23 PM

    Hari OM
    Anarchic poetry requires no rules... 😉 YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Liz A.December 30, 2024 at 4:00 AM

    Poetry only dies within you if you choose that to be so. Maybe it's gone dormant for a time. But it can still wake back up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalDecember 30, 2024 at 7:13 AM

      True. But the sociopolitical reality around can stifle poetry.

      Delete

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