Stargazing at Marina Beach

The crowds disperse.The sea roars,twilight fades,the boats on the horizon impersonate stars.One of them wears a shade too red and blinks too fastas if it wants to be Sirius.More constellations shine behind you,little bulbs of white lightgleaming from carts selling corn and fried fish and tea and sandwichesand behind them rests another galaxyof equidistant lightshemming …

Gratitude

You reach outand check into see if a friend’s doing good,and the conversation branches outinto the comfort food you miss,the idli you last had five months agoat the placethat was right behind your home,still is,but now seems like a universe away. And then, the next day,out of nowhere,she sends in a box of,yes idli. The …

Hurried

You answer the phone,thousands of kilometers shrink into seconds,oceans collapse under telecom networks,and you thank technologyfor making this connection.The conversation turns into an interview,you respond to questions,and slip in yourswhen there’s space for one.As the minutes move past you,the questions fly by thicker,and there’s no breathing spacebetween the last answerand the next question. You slow …

Growing Older

When I get older, nearing fifty – let’s stick to that number for this poem – many of my friends – if I have the same ones then as I do now – will be in their late thirties, and I wonder if I’ll slow down and not be able to keep pace with younger …

When this is over

When this is over, I want to take my time And notice how the street curls into the road behind my house. When this is over, I want to watch the kites perched on the tower that I know stands a few meters away. Hearing the trill of these birds is not enough. When this …