Teesta Review: A Journal of Poetry, Volume 5, Number 1. May 2022. ISSN: 2581-7094
A Poetic Duad
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| Image courtesy: thriftyfun.com |
1.
Mona Lisa
One foot before the other,
Dainty, furry, purring, —
Cat-walking
Across the back of a sofa,
Till the sight of a roach
Makes her jaywalk —
Plop!
The stealthy ball of fur
Stalks along the floor —
Meow! Has so many ways —
Coy, ticklish, demurring —
Till the glint in the eye betrays
How suavely she portrays
Mayhem
with a knowing smile.
2.
Bird-Brained Thoughts
On sunny mornings
Or lazy evenings,
I tiptoe around the stones.
They are curiously misshapen,
Resembling eggs,
Yet not quite eggs.
Almost-oval, almost-round,
Almost-flat, almost-big,
Almost-a-human-head –
They come in myriad shapes,
Like myriad egos.
Some serve to build fences,
Some to mend chinks in walls,
Some to play an innocent game of Seven Stones*;
And some simply to pelt,
When you want to see fresh, thick,
Red blood ooze from your brother’s head.
Two such could even be
Struck together to make fire.
I peck around human fascination
For all worn, rounded pebbles,
Shingle, and boulders;
And get back to laying eggs,
One by one, neatly;
Speckled, round, oval;
Choosing only, and only, Life.
* Game of Seven Stones: A traditional game in India.
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