Tick tock.
I board the
train at Bandra.
Tired, old,
worn out faces look at me.
Tired, old,
worn out faces look straight through me.
The monotony
of it all overwhelms me.
A baby
cries. Someone sneezes.
I am sorry.
Tick tock.
Vinod smiles
at me.
Vinod has a
ring on his finger.
He had his wedding yesterday.
Marriage-
the mundanity of it overwhelms me.
I smile
back.
I am sorry.
Tick
tock.
Sahil waves at me.
Sahil has a school bag on his shoulders.
His shoulders are drooping.
Education- the dullness of it overwhelms me.
I wave back.
I am sorry.
Tick
tock.
Ritu looks at me.
Ritu rubs her fingers against her belly.
She is pregnant.
Life- the mechanical creation of it overwhelms me.
I look away.
I am sorry.
Tick
tock.
Our eyes meet.
Your shoulders are heavy.
You look at me. You nod. You understand.
The monochrome overwhelms you.
I am not sorry anymore.
See you soon, love.
Boom.
This poem is really clever. The reference to the tiny details like the sneeze and the drooping shoulders really conveys how there are so many movements and intricacies that we miss out on in the rush of our life.
ReplyDeleteThe 'boom' at the end gives a very dramatic effect! And also a little bias towards the poem because of my love of Bandra! :D
Is the fact that he is a suicide bomber clear in the end?
DeleteNow it does ;)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read the poem, I had a more romantic vision of it. The poem gave me the sense of a cynic falling in love, the entire poem establishing that the individual is fed up and overwhelmed with the people around him/her and eventually he/she finds someone that feels the same way. I think that's also majorly because of the use of people's names which gave a sense of familiarity which I would not associate with a suicide bomber. However now knowing the intention of the poem I do get the morbidity that runs throughout the poem and is interesting in its own way.
ReplyDelete