I smell a rat

Scrounging for a meal, the rat found its way
Into your closet and gnawed
Your favourite cotton slacks.
Actually found them tasteless.
No harm in trying (he thought).
Is he wrong?

On my way from the store, I met your
Wife rushing home. Couldn’t mistake
Her face -- brimming with glee.
They say she’s been frequenting
The doctor’s and opening her legs to be examined.
Pity, you’re the only one in the dark.
Apparently, you’re seldom home.
Is she wrong?

There goes your perfidious wife
Spewing vile invective
As she chases the rat out of the house.
Ranting and raving at the crazed creature.
Who’s wrong? I wonder.

The power of me

I’ve been around the world
Quite a few times

Met a few good men
And plenty more pretty girls

Quite a few hearts I captured
And broke a lot more

I have experienced pain
In all its different guises

I have toiled for decades
Only to see the work
Destroyed in a minute of malice

I have been maimed and shamed
Sullied till I was devoid
of all honour

I have learned
To seek succor
From friend and foe alike
And got smarter in the process

These I have endured
Knowing fully well
That my day would dawn

So, as I stand
Before you today
Steadfast is my faith
In the power of me

ennui

I flip through the Guardian pages,
Intrigued by the predictability of it all:
Rigged elections in some corner of Africa,
A discredited politician closer to home.

I slouch on my couch, try and shut out
All the humdrum that so bogs me down
I am roused out of my reverie
By the shrill sound of sirens
Whizzing past my window

Even now as I try
To piece these few sentences together
I can’t help but notice
My disjointed train of thought

Resurrecting Dad

I want to fill my space with you
Every bit and piece of you
Strewn all over this loft

I want to clone you
Carve you from memory
So every sinew in you is plain to see

I want you here
So close to me
That you could never leave again

At last, I have you
Every bit and piece of you
Etched on my psyche

In hot pursuit of nirvana

Want to know why I lie, cheat and steal?
Truth is, my father was poor
His father even poorer
So I vowed to veer off

My ways may be wayward
But my bravado is laudable

Still, I feel small
Somehow inadequate -- no matter how large the largesse

Maybe someday I’ll find a treasure trove
Buried in the inner core of my being
Pray God I won’t have to lie, cheat or steal
To claim it

Close to the edge

How grateful I am
For the sanctuary that is my
Sanity. For the chance to dream,
Sleep and dream again.
See, I don’t know for
How long I can keep
Doing this.