Anhad ka Baaja

Compassion

The attempts to describe
What is beyond description:
“Hell beyond imagination”
“Dystopic”
“Cannot be described in words”

Speak

The sheer savagery
Of the butchers of Gaza
Leaves me speechless
But speechlessness
Is not an option
If we are not to
Normalise Genocide

Choreography

Sitting on the verandah ledge
Watching the bird-baths
I watch the birds
Drinking
Bathing
Sporting

Murder of the Olive Trees

I hear the thwack
Of knife on wood
And my blood pressure rises
And I know
Yes, I know that
My neighbour
(Whom we have nicknamed
The Rogue)
Is hacking at our trees

An Anniversary Poem

Every year
On the anniversary
Of their wedding
Those stories
Would be revisited

Not just family
But an ever-widening
Circle of friends
Would hear of
Appa’s first…

Old friends

Last night
We caught up with 
Old friends
After ages:
The conversation flowed
Like the wine
What each of the kids
Were up to
What each of us four
Were up to
And on and on and on

Likely

They are likely
Committing War Crimes
But
We can’t be sure
So
We can keep supplying them
With weapons
(Defensive weapons, mind you)
Until
We are sure they are
Committing War Crimes
And even then
We can’t be sure
That they are
Committing War Crimes
With the weapons we supplied
(Defensive weapons, mind you)
So…

Parental Concerns

As we lie awake
In bed at night
Our thoughts go out
To our sons:
Is the older one taking care
To stay warm?
It is cold where he is
And when he is engrossed in work…
Is the younger one
Drinking enough water 
In this Heat Wave?
Will he remember to
Stay well hydrated
In the run-up to 
His endsem…