https://www.ultramarinereview.com/post/abandoned
With divided heart mind and colours
deluded and dumb millions still blind
to politicians peeling their flesh
layer by layer like onion
take pride in the knife that cuts them to core
get cooked in debris of myths and history
for kites and vultures of caste and sect
now more vulgar breeds of tyrant flourish
under the same sky they are gashed peels
the abandoned bodies the rotten souls
1
RAJA BAZAR
There is a whole lot of crowded life under the long flyover
--from fish market to plastic tents and car parking to excretion—
poor pedestrians can’t cross the road either side
they fear auto rickshaws bikes food stalls pushes and pickpockets
on the footpath extended shops short-circuit every movement
opposite Paras Cancer Centre in Raja Bazar
it’s a sight of sepsis with multiple dysfunction
--a consilience of rural ambition with urban abundance—
they cry for alternative diagnosis but lack doctor and ventilator
2
KOSI DELUGE
Women and children
crossing the flooded huts
with aluminum
cooking pots, plastic cans
and remains of provisions
seek shelter on trees
none know when these too will
collapse and drift down the stream
like the living space
with men on underwear
3
SORROW OF BIHAR
I feel the yellow leaves with the day’s silence in their stare
the ghetto uncovers what they try to conceal –
feeling stuck, a little ‘off’, or foggy
in the sameness of everyday celebrating
no sex, no travel, no drinks, no books but black smoke
dust and emptiness of years they’re unsure about
here each one sounds too profound, perching for new life
between the parentheses ending up
a kite snapped and strayed into a bush
--R.K. Singh
