Mangled Remains
[13.9.2008]
Terror had struck again, claiming
unsuspecting victims of every kind
and there on the front page of the Times
of India, staring at me, pleading for peace
to avenge its unwitting sacrifice,
it seemed to say:
I gave up black for the benefit
of green, but nothing really changed
We still phut-phuttied along, barely
eking a living, aspired for but
couldn’t grab a space, in those
elevating walls of cement.
The shanties were our reservation
I remember the shock
of being thrown up into the air
and how my head smashed
onto the tarmac, wheels upturned
hitting the pavement, as the CNG cylinder
burst like a bomb, turning Gaffar market
into a panic-stricken hollow
Cowards were blamed for blasting
a peaceful neighbourhood, into this
ghost town of burning wounds
If truly at peace, wouldn’t
the silence have revealed mayhem
in minds, that passed by each day?
Did they ever hear my muffled screams
as I wobbled along, a comic character
on three wheels, gasping to keep up
with the sleek Toyota and Mercedes
pretending to be as cheerful as this
yellow cover, now blown to smithereens.
© Gopika Nath
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