14th October 2020

You asked me if you looked pretty,
This was yesterday;
I said, "Yes,"
Bewildered by the question.

Today I asked if it was the headscarf
I was supposed to have noticed yesterday,
Still bewildered by it.

You laughed and said,"What, still obsessed by it
For the last forty-eight hours?"
Although in not so many words.

Therefore, I have sworn, with upheld hand,
That for the next forty-eight years, not hours,
You will not see my face again,
At least not a face that looks at you
As it once did in better times.

I will take no interest in whether you live or die,
Marry or have children,
Grow old and ugly or whatever,
For the next forty-eight years.

Only then will you know who I am;
Only then will you know when I love someone,
I do so with all my heart,
And when I hate someone,
I do so wholeheartedly as well.

Away from me, you whose venom
Was like that of a poisonous snake;
Never again will you stab my heart
With that needle-sharp tongue of yours
For the next forty-eight years,
So help me God.

15th July 2020

Like a bereaved mother

Coping with the loss

Of all ten of her grandchildren

In a tragic boating accident,

Or some such calamity,

So was I.

Your babies,

Eve,

And yours too,

Mama Cat,

And yours too,

Skinny One,

Alas,

It was only yesterday,

It seems,

This household was filled

With the happy sound

Of their tiny,

Or not-so-tiny,

Feet

Whichever the case might've been,

This now silent and empty household,

Silent and empty

Except for four indifferent cats

And one lifeless hooman.