POEMS OF A MUNDANE LIFE: Piku Chowdhury

Piku Chowdhury

1. THE KITCHEN

Turmeric glow in a bottle on shelf, and

Ruddy rage in another jar

Shallow green and diffident ochre

Trying to match the riot not far.

Riot of hues on counter shelf

Verdant greens and orange and cream

Carrots, spinach, leaves and mass

Red bell peppers in silent scream – 

The fire is lit

The ire splutters

And rage and love and scars and fear

Mingle in the oily voyage

Telling tales to the hand that steers;

The bottles add to counter stuff

And blended are they by the fire,

The hand keeps moving the ladle 

and hears the tales of joy and tear

Tales of life and tales of death

Of myriad hues and evolving faith

Burning is no option here

Raging red should add to flavour;

The kitchens blend the hues and churn

Ever new tales of regeneration.

***

2. THE WASHING

Will it be washed away with the blue

Fragrant liquid poured in cups

Into the mighty snowy machine

That whirrs into an active life?

The stains of deceiving conniving souls

The marks of envy, labour and pain

Will the machine wash the stench 

Of heartbreaks, betrayal and all such stain?

We add one more cup of detergent 

With hope and yet with resignation,

The machine whirrs and churns the dress

That we have stained with inclination 

For profit and sadist joy of victory 

Winning over moral indignation.

We keep adding the washing potion

We keep alive the comforting cycle

In the hope of forgiveness, and

In the hope of a miracle.

***

3. DUST

The stealthy morning rays of sun

Creeping through the summer blinds

Create a vista for the dust

That swirl and dance in unison.

The duster adds to the merry crowd

Little rainbow gossamer beings

Twirl and swirl in a bizarre dance

Amidst the scheming metro bling.

Blaring horns and heat and cheats,

Dying honesty, unscrupulous feats –

Threats of death and poison touch

Defeated by the magical dust.

Promise of meraki in the dust -

Rainbow wings that spread a hope 

Of dust that may sail through dust 

Of the modern existence.

***

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Setu, April 2022