Cosmopolitan

The sense of family
is an escape,
a responsible escape
into routine,
bound by the refusal
to dwell in dreams,

by the prohibition
of trespassing
into forbidden places,
not of lust or knowledge,
or magic or power,
but 

places of adventure,
of life,
of leisure.

To break
to break
to break
the railings that hold you back.

To make
amends to your soul-
for having listened
to 'Wish you were here,'

traffic-stuck and numb,
and then paying for
a parking ticket,
for a cramped corner in a basement.

The wish to be away from here,
a terrible pinprick
up the elevator.


11/09/09 Bangalore

Navy Blues

My husband/ my son/ my brother
is in the navy

And I, a proud Indian woman,
am content with a spot on TV

They forgot to mention
my father/ father-in-law/ uncle/ nephew
son-in-law/ brother-in-law

They forgot how they should be
in the navy too

Even my neutered dog or tom-cat may wear
white uniforms, white caps

I wonder how navy blue even suits women
or how old navy makes lady clothes

The only white I get to wear
is when a man dies
martyred, for the sake of god and country

which are perhaps his only
to defend and love

All I can muster is passivity
and a stoic shade of nude make-up

On TV, endorsing
a man who used to be in the navy.


2016.