Call Me Oh My Love by Khurshid Alam

Call Me Oh My Love by Khurshid Alam 

Call me when you’re free
When you come close to rot
When you feel down
When you go awry

Call me when you dry up
When you hang up
When you cry at the foul
When you lament a mistake

I’ll be along with you for no good reason
Whenever you call me I’ll be by you.
In all situations, I will be yours!

Note: Published with Daily Love, 5/25/2012.

A Walk to the Moon with You by Khurshid Alam

A Walk to the Moon with You by Khurshid Alam

Come, oh my darling on a walk
to the moon where we’ll live for life
and will never return from.

Away from jealousies, away from competition
We will live there carefree
We won’t fell trees for a house
We won’t breathe toxin there
We will have a sliver of moon daily
In breakfast and swing in the air
You will pass the days in shining back
To the people on earth below
And then people will tell the stories
The moon now has been shining brighter than before.


Note: Published with Daily Love, 6/14/2011.

Assert the Truth by Khurshid Alam

Assert the Truth by Khurshid Alam

Should you come to meet me
And ask: how I am?
I’m fine. But to tell it
In answer is sweeter than sweet.

Should you come to greet me
And welcome: how sure I am?
I am full of confidence
But to assert it in answer.
Is to be more confident.

Should you but come to me
And propose: if I love you?
I do, should you but ask!
For, to accept is more
Beautiful than I do love you.

---
For Shez
---

Note: Published with Daily Love, 5/20/2010.

Corruption by Khurshid Alam

Corruption by Khurshid Alam

The sprawling CWG’s stadium unfolded
A large spectrum of corruption running into megabucks
The CWG stadium—
The doom of festivity, the doom of fidelity
   
2G spectrum stood towering even higher
That echoed clangour of corruption even louder.
   
Heaps of corruption—
Corruption after corruption.
United people to roar against corruption
All seem to support the campaigns that
some Gandhians initiated.
I too added my voice against.
   
I was given the responsibility to enlist some corruptions
And thus I began:
   
At the corner of a village I saw
Flames leaping from a hearth in front of
A dim-lit hut, tilted towards a side
A crumbling roof atop, ready to fall anytime
Some ladies from neighbouring area came
Singing to the hut, to the fire and
Lit their own cow-dung cakes from the hearth
And they saved many a matchstick.
   
Many people in the country, in the slums of the cities
Wake up early and relieve themselves in the open
With their mouth hanging down, eyes to the earth
Once free they cover their dirt under the soil mysteriously
They create an unhygienic environment and then cry
The government is not doing anything for their health
   
People rush to the public buses and trains
As soon as they reach to the stops
To loot the seats and bunk tickets
The ticket-checkers wish the larger number of people
Bunk tickets the better. They earn wealth in the run.
   
Police run after the law breakers—
Some bikes, cars, and vehicles
Have no PUC, no helmets, no license
The police threaten to make challan and thereby
Fix a deal at a less price than the fine.
The bribe has saved many a law breaker.
   
Players of more age are declared underage
By the cricket team, by college teachers
And they bring a cup for their correct age
The test for age was fixed for a price.
   
Parents help their wards in copying at exams
To ensure high marks. If yet not met, they
Manage a caste certificate to help them pass
Through high cut-offs in the college selection processes
The parents are happy their children are studying
Philosophy, history, science, engineering, medicine
Who will one day become great philosophers
Historians, scientists, engineers and doctors.
   
Police have to pay to seek posting at their chosen
Places where they can earn name, fame, and money
They implement laws to ensure security to the people
   
Soon I found my list was full but the counting yet incomplete
I was tired and began to yawn. Suddenly I planned
I can create fake names and cases of corruption
Who is coming to look whether I did my job
Honestly!
I was lamenting why I took the headache to make the listing
To be tabled the next day. If I was the only fool left
To think for the country.
I took away the glasses from my nose, and folded the list
And crawled into the cosy duvets.
Why should I disturb my sleep
All goes to hell, I said to myself
And switched off the night bulb.

Note: First published with Mainstream September 3, 2011.

Poems on Nature Theme published with Muse India

Oh Clouds

Oh clouds, gather over my roof
someday and rain as much as you like
I’ll drench to my content
and wear new attires.

Oh sun, pray you shine
on my back and warm me
to the bone. I’ll grow
myself strong and wear a coat.

Oh sparrow, come and sit on
my window and chirp. I’ll listen
to the music in calm ambience
and enjoy unending nature’s echo.

Oh golden flowers, bloom
in my garden in youth
and cool the lawn. I’ll smell
and embrace your faith.

Why Drink from the Oasis

Why drink from the oasis?
A great sea is lying beneath–
remove the sheet of sands and peep.

The only tree stands straight
failing with rugged barks
and empty branches
Root a new plant before
you celebrate its death.

A man in solitude
can speak to himself; poorly
Break the soliloquy and meet
the people. They will listen!
Response makes you meaningful.

Begin a New Day

At dawn
The sunflower smiles to the sun
Begin a day—
better than yesterday

The breeze is laden with the smell of soil
the bursting of new flowers, and the cool dews.

The silence is filled with the birds’ song
They head to the east for the early breakfast
heeding to the sun’s call and the flowers’ welcome

The white and red rose petals make a hue
in the garden—the beautiful linen brings joys anew.

Mother Nature

She must be motherly

We’re

Born

Cradled

And

We breathe

Grow

Find repose.

She yields us

Food

Shelter

A harmony to cherish.

She must be a temple.

Note: These poems are on nature theme brought out by Muse India in issue 32, July-August, 2010.

Rescue Against Fire is published with the Quatrain City

Rescue Against Fire is published with the Quatrain City.



Rescue Against Fire
by Khurshid Alam


In the vast blue umbrella, two holes of
fire poke threatening me to warm ‘gainst
the cold water. Luckily a shelter
I have at the other end of the hill.

Note: This is an ekphrastic poem that was declared winner in the Quatrian City contest #9.

New Poems 'Mirror Filled with Guilt', 'The Root', 'Voyeurism', 'Plagiarism' published

Four of my new poems Mirror Filled with Guilt, The Root, Voyeurism, Plagiarism are published with ken* again in Vol. 11, No. 2, Summer 2010.



Mirror Filled With Guilt

At the mirror filled with guilt
Even the rubbish sells
I barked. Soon I recollected my facial arch
And looked around to ensure no one
Saw me in the deed
And broke the mirror into pieces.


The Root

Let me reset all the images
irregular
The stones turn
deaf
if you carve them out of
Father—
the mountain is
bleeding
in silence!

People have carved out
many images
and have taken possession of
the forms
among themselves
The forms have lost
the content —
no grass grows on
stone images.

Yet they worship and grow
old
to forget the holy Father
and go mad
with the child images.


Voyeurism

Creeping on my chest
the ant touched my neck
Move away from here now
I'm conjugating, I screamed.

In the dusk of the room
her body made a posture
I tried to read it in vain
peeping through the windowsill.

She gasped with strong breath
the wind blew out of the window
where I stood waiting for a glimpse
she tossed in the bed for life.

I dress in the dark for fear
She may lick her lips
to see me bare in the ribs
and kill me in the daylight.


Plagiarism

It is easy to write:
easy to plagiarize
copy the things:
it’s yours
but think twice
before you plagiarize
your run-of-the-mill art
may get derail
of the destination and
you may land in some corner
where mosquitoes will eat you up
till you cry it hard and vomit:
apologies, money and all!

Note: To read these poems, visit ken* again.

Blessing Ceaselessly published with The Quatrain City

Blessing Ceaselessly


Worship to the gods studded in the linoleum.
The sacred murals bless you: they stand guard
against all evils in life and light your ways;
the third eye awakens you to think beyond.


Note: This is an ekphrastic poem that was declared Runner-Up in The Quatrain City Poetry Contest # 7, dated June 20, 2010.

Assert the Truth published with Daily Love

Assert the Truth

Should you come to meet me
And ask: how I am?
I’m fine. But to tell it
In answer is sweeter than sweet.

Should you come to greet me
And welcome: how sure I am?
I am full of confidence
But to assert it in answer.
Is to be more confident.

Should you but come to me
And propose: if I love you?
I do, should you but ask!
For, to accept is more
Beautiful than I do love you.

---
For Shez
---
Note: This poem was first published in Daily Love, May 20, 2010.

Three New Poems Published

A Stone Lizard

A stone lizard

darted its tongue

and caught a cave cricket

the cricket creaked, buzzed…

and the sound died in a few moments.

The lizard crept on the rough mountain

where hard trees and plants grew

and dry leaves lay strewn

the lizard cried shaking its head: I live in the mountain

in cave, among stones. I’m a stone.

I hide myself in the chrome

and eat the insects which I turn

into stone in my dark stony stomach.

Tell Lies

Tell lies

for there is much faith in believing lies

and let them show how much they love you.

Truth is well propagated in promises

in politics, in judiciary, in love.

Lovers die to uphold the promises

Politicians fight at the hustings to prove their words

Judiciary strives to uphold morality

Lies receive a cold welcome everywhere.

I’ve won many awards for truth

But I bargain life each time I tell lies.

Empty Chest

I want to cry at the pain

I can’t

My chest is empty

I feel the pain too battering.

Note: All these three poems were first published in ken* again, the literary magazine, Vol. 10, No. 4, Winter 2009/2010.

Critical Essays

Four best literary critical essays:

Black Anomalies in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
August Wilson depicts black anomalies in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. A. Wilson is one of the great black writers who showcases the encumbrance which the Blacks were chocked in — the white tyranny of slavery.

Christopher Marlowe the First Rebellious in Literature
Christopher Marlowe is remembered largely as a great tragedy playwright but he was more than a believer in the Renaissance and creator of a world of his own...Marlowe rebelled against religious tenets, against social laws, against the submissiveness of human nature and against the literary theory.

Mid-Twentieth Century Sub-Urbane of America
Sub-urban life compared by Louis Simpson in the poem “In the Suburbs”and John Ciardi in the peom “Suburban”.

Jonathan Swift was a great dreamer of Utopia
Jonathan Swift was a great dreamer of Utopia, an imaginary land where every thing is so fine and orderly and not a misanthrope as he is alleged to be by a larger community of the critics.

To read in full, please visit:

Khurshid_Alam's_Essays_at_Shvoong

Investigative Poetry published with Muse India

Investigative Poetry

Investigative writing is about delving deep into the truth behind a thing. Many a times, we come across an event that we doubt having been caused because of some ulterior motive. This doubt causes us to search into the event. Many writers and poets too have often hinted at the truth behind a thing and have disclosed the secrets.

Investigative poetry is such a genre in which a poet investigates an event in a role of an investigative writer. One of the great names in this genre is of Charles Olson, a great bard of America with whom Edward Sanders finds investigative poetry to have born. In investigative writing the writers investigate into the explicit and laugh at the implicit. This is a serious task though, but the responsibility is great. Often the truth is too terrible, though it sometimes turns out to be extremely beautiful.

Being certain that they and I
But lived where motley is worn:
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
--W. B. Yeats, "Easter 1916"

Investigative poetry has some unique features, which define the genre. It investigates the thing that stands before us in disguise. The on-the-screen happening is different but the fact is somewhat else.

Investigation, however, involves high risk of being false at times. For when you doubt a thing you begin your investigation. The doubt may not be validated as well. But if the doubts lead to a truth and the truth is proved only then the job is achieved.

Note: First published in Muse India, Issue 27, Sep-Oct 2009, ISSN: 0975-1815 with slight changes.

Contemporary Poetry Post

Contemporary Poetry Post

This site offers you a feel of literary art of the highest quality.

You can read contemporary poems on various topics and genre, and criticism on various poems and poetics.

By rule, you will read only those writings here which have been published in some journals, magazines and books, and not the previously unpublished ones.

Poems

Shez Mingled in Me and You Turned My Faith published in a book titled An Anthology of Contemporary Love Poems



Shez Mingled in Me

I worship the prophetess of love
beauty, majesty, glory, and desire -
she is the sublime of all arts.

Smitten by her beauty I kissed
on her forehead: she taught me
to read her as I do the Bible.

Opiated by her aroma
I touched her skin pink
soft and so affectionate: she sedated
me and I bowed my head low.
She was the epitome of glory
I fumbled on her body with crave:
she admired my humbleness.
I sought solace in her lap
and went in a trance:
she was out of breath and could teach me
no ahead.
Finally she surrendered. She deigned.
She could spell no word
except she gave me a blink or two.
She crept into me and vanished
Now I smell she, I wine she
I’ve made an idol of her and sing a hymn to her daily.

Note: First published in the book titled An Anthology of Contemporary Love Poems edited by Rohitash Chandra & Ed Coet.

You Turned My Faith

Till a few minutes past, my eyes were blank
Then you painted yourself in them beautiful
Now I plant flowers and leaves of different hues
In my garden where once stood the store room
For a litter of garbage and dumps
And offer water to the birds at my window
And sing along their chirping again and again.

Till a few minutes past, my heart was blank
Then you entered into it and dwell there
Now I feel the world such a worthy place to live
Should I die I wish to be reposed in some corner
Of the earth than go to the heaven above
And lie with you some day for ever.

Note: First published in the book titled An Anthology of Contemporary Love Poems edited by Rohitash Chandra & Ed Coet.

Perspective

I took just a few steps
And the road ended
I took a stride
And the path finished
I measured the fields
And the land locked
The world is so small!

And then I began on the journey
The roads lasted without an end
I took strides
But the paths never crossed
I came across the fields
To touch the horizon
It seemed bowing at a distance
Above always
I tried and tried
It has no ending!
The world is so vast!

Note: First published in ken* again Fall 2009. Vol.10, No.3, Oct-Dec.


At the Crossings

We’ll meet at the crossings
Or see each other in the crowd
Or match eyes from a distance
Then we’ll realize
What we lost and what we gained.

Note: First published in ken* again Fall 2009. Vol.10, No.3, Oct-Dec.

The Doll

The doll imitates the forms
Of a woman
But it lacks the content—

The dark patches gone
The hirsute cleansed
The black heads removed.
Untimely blinks, sneering face
Under unkempt hair
Big laughs and irregular teeth.

Note: First published in ken* again Fall 2009. Vol.10, No.3, Oct-Dec.

Paths Are Obstructed

Paths are obstructed at the no-man’s land
where they die gasping at the boundary
against the barbs grounded at either side.
Let me move without a stop
I want to excavate the old stories
the customs, the norms and the mores
to make a tribe of a people
who have no schisms, no forms
and dance only to the tune of Nature.

Note: First published in ken* again Fall 2009. Vol.10, No.3, Oct-Dec.

Bargain published in Mainstream Weekly , New Delhi



Bargain

I’ve seen
many men of lesser quality
rise upwards
and have immense influence
on the people around
and many others of best quality
fall down
under the excuse of recession
when job is badly appraised
and responsibility blindly assessed
and salary adversely reduced.



A nude man
barely in skin
shies from people
tries to hide everything
so many secrets
fears to share with others
the poor chap letting no chance to disclose
what he has, what not
but poor in the effort
he wears all that he has
the skin covers him all over.

The politicians
first woo the people
then the parties, leaders and independents
to make a government at the Center
they refresh the old promises of road, clothes and house
and add to give power, control economy and guarantee security
And bucks
to the fellow politicians
and creamy posts to some, ministries to the others
but people always find themselves
on the margin
once the vote is over
they are again in the queue
waiting for the next hustings
when they would get the chance
to teach them once more
what pain it is
to go back from the words
while the parties enjoy
the deal they gain.
Should each of us not flung a party and bargain
road, clothes, house, power, economy and security?
An India with one billion parties will be a fine idea.

Note: First published in Mainstream (New Delhi), May 30, 2009.


The Grass is Shaking

The grass is shaking
a mouse may be nibbling
at the root
The grains will soon turn
into heaps under the anthills.

Outside millions will bend on their knees
Or sulk in the alleys
or peep into the dark well
or crumble, scream and die.

Or will I see some from the folk
Shooting at the American Civic Association
tearing stomach of innocent people
Why should they die of starvation?
They should die from the bullets instead, instantly?

Note: First publsihed in Muse India, ISSN: 0975-1815. Sep-Oct 2009.


In Disguise

They take shelter in the auto rickshaws
in the daylight and sit in much calm
in much commune with the police on patrol
and invite the passers-by at Laldarwaza.

They smile, lure and gesture
and wear red coloured garments
with tattoos on the arms and vermilion on the head
that spell an erotic design
if the marks can veil them?
Have much powder on the face, dark lipstick and well combed hair
the shampoo can be smelt.
People have a look at them
read the invitation and choose and smile back
with reserved lips and hypocrite brows—
they pride there is no red-light area in Ahmedabad.

From somewhere a man approaches Maya
and whispers some thing; and sets the deal
she keeps smiling and talking all the while
Her sharp nails and the polish bright
the vulgar curves, ebony skin and black eyes
lure the man; and he takes a rickshaw
off the sight, beating the heat of the summer.

Profession’s battering superimposed on her body
the oil on the head had caught the heat of the sun
the stench of the powder under her armpits, and the sweat
soaked panty spoiled his taste. He cried his wife’s name
while struggling between her legs and pushed her away
He quickly put on his clothes and ran away
in a madness, as if he swore never to come again.

Note: First publsihed in Muse India, Sep-Oct 2009.


An Inclusive India

Ajnabi is registered a Christian at school
And bargains exemption of fee by half
And all miscellanies full; and sings hymns
To Jesus and celebrates Christmas.
He enjoys mirth unbound and has no vices.
He reverences Palestine, Ichthus and the Cross.

He stops cars and buses and collects
Donation to organise the puja pandal
On Dashehra and throws colors of joy
On others on Holi and dances
To the tune of cymbal and dhak
And joins the crowd to the sacred river
And immerses the idols and returns home
With much faith and peace in heart.
Manu’s adventure, Om and Swastika
Are the ideals of his Hindu faith.

At home he observes fast in Ramadan
And goes to the mosque every Friday
And celebrates Eid and prides in listening
To the sacrifices the prophets made for mankind
Abraham’s black stone, Crescent, and calligraphy
are his driving forces.

India is an inclusive nation—
Profane and sacred; traditional and revolutionary
Godly and samkhya; political and social—
And now a new micro-India will arise
From some where in the crowd
To move the wheel of life!

Note: First published in Muse India, Sep-Oct 2009.


The Mysterious Man

My mother scoffed at us for ours no fault
She had put sweets from offerings in a box
To distribute the sacred eating equally among us all:
“All should have equal favour”, she taught.
Free from her daily routines she opened the box
“And four sweets were missing, she found
Who stole the parshad? ” she shouted
And threw the rest to us without a choice.
We’re surprised who stole the sweat
We enquired each who committed the mischief
None was brought to the book
Every one swore none knew anything!

My sceptic father kept an aid-box ready at hand
If there’s a mishap and we’d be treated at the instance
And then my sister broke her toe
She screamed in pain and created a hue
My father searched the box every nook and corner
But no trace of it could he find. He abused us all
She cried at the highest and raised the sensation
To enrage my father who loved her more than us
We searched it everywhere without a trace
But we found neither the box nor the mischief
We’re surprised. Every one swore none knew anything!

Posters and banners they put every Friday
For the movies that would play at the theatre
By the next day many posters were torn
Some beyond their sign, some half-bitten.
Many invigilators were left to look into the secret
And they searched high and low with no avail
“Who did it? ” they always thought chewing
Tobacco, or with cigarettes between their lips
For they said the pills added some more intelligence
But they always came back with empty hands.

There’s always a Mysterious Man who does the mischief
And hides himself some where in silence to laugh at us
In troubles and confusion with no trace of him.

Note: First publsihed in Muse India, Sep-Oct 2009.

A Drop of Dew

A dropp of dew can enliven
the thirsty buds
can cause a new life
can create a reason.

A dropp of dew can drown
a village, flood a country
can cause tears
can push a people.

A dropp of dew can dry up
the sky, can make clouds
can thicken fogs
can blind the people
can end the reason.

Note: First published in Muse India, May-Jun 2009.


A Poet Laments

Stars are shining bright and the moon is up
Clouds are making homes for them
They lead to their destinations in peace.
I find no reason to write on disharmony.
No reason to lament.

Grasses are green and plants are laden
With fruits. Flowers bloom and swing
The aroma rents the air with a hope.
I find no reason to write on despair.
No reason to lament.

Courts deliver justice to the people
They deserve. Police help them bury
Atrocities. And the government swears.
I find no reason to write on pessimism.
No reason to lament.

People celebrate festivals and share joys
In glee. They all congregate in the temples
They have no reservation, no aversion.
I find no reason to write on their follies.
No reason to lament.

Note: First published in Muse India, May-Jun 2009.

The Golden Birds

The golden birds flock
To the fields
Fluttering and dropping beads
Weaving them into garlands.

At the day break
They count their valuables
One, two, three…and more and more
Yet they lament at their yields
They’ve gathered little; yearn for more.

Yet fluttering and yet dropping
Yet counting, yet lamenting.

Note: First published in Muse India, May-Jun 2009.


In Search of Peace

I’m in search of a home
Where lights twinkle
And burn the house warm
People share their haves.
And hug each other in love.
They have no complaints in heart.

Gods are sleeping
Houses are burning
Each home claims there prevails
Peace at its door.
Claims turn to arguments
To disagreements
To wars.

Argument cannot house peace
Religion can teach you peace but
Which one to choose from a dozen?
Each claims it preaches peace
Yes, it does it claims
Claims turn to arguments
To disagreements, to wars!
How a fight for peace
Can bring peace?

Religion has taught us a lot
Should it teach us to narrow arguments
To tolerate disagreements
To co-exist with other claims?
Should it be a path of soul searching
Embodying peace, loving humans?
Should it bring people together
Make them love and turn
Arguments to find an answer?
Will then I embrace Religion.

Note: First published in Muse India, May-Jun 2009.

Harmony and Foliage were published with The Blue Fog Journal


Harmony

Tiger, tiger burning bright
He’ll leap up above the sky
When the Moon would shine
And the Sun would define
The Commandments shall spread far and wide
The Fire shall flame in the air high
The Buddha shall be born again
To teach the world how to weave
The Turban of pride.







Note: This poem celebrates World Religion Day that falls on the third Sunday of January each year. This poem first appeared with The Blu Fog Journal, April 1, 2009.

Foliage

Leaves foliage, the green turbans, on
The silky branches to clutch on unsuccessful
Efforts.

What thought the farmers have?
To prevent the sun pass across?

The sisters are sisters without brothers
The brothers are brothers without sisters

No relation the farmers harvest
The sandy fields cannot be watered
By the oasis.
The girls should not share the little water
They should not stand on their feet.
They must foliage, clumber; the parasites
Should hope for no resort.

The sands hold no centrifuge
The buccaneers should roll over
The world and no grass should be grown
No sleep for them and no sleep for
Any one else.

Note: This poem has been written in reaction to the radical cleric of Taliban Maulana Fazlullah who announced banning of schools for females in the Swat district of Pakistan’s North Western Frontier Province on December 24,2008. This poem first appeared with The Blue Fog Journal, April 1, 2009.


The National Library

Many couples couple to the serene campus
But they don’t love; never marry each other
Yet they’re apace for a feeling unrealised
They often take bits of paper and make equations
They do, they don’t; till they get a predominant zero.

Some scholars come in boots and tie
With shirt-in on fine pants and the glasses
On their nose which tell how much ordeal
They’ve suffered and they work daylong
For their purpose and gather all papers
And they make a good name and win fame.

Many regulars hunt the library, in the Main Building
In the Magazine section, and other Departments
They chose; and browse through the documents
And come back with signatures in the register
In a faint hope: they would find an alcove
Some day later and the readers would study
Them through their signatures – how they fritted
Their time, many for decades and created
Noise and bustle in the Depart Mental canteen
And their mind is departed indeed from the deeds
Yet they don’t get tired of their indolence!

Some silent readers never agitate but study
In the corner and they pack up their papers
In the Xerox and in the notes they jot down and go
With their purpose finished and complete
Their degrees and diplomas of their institutes
And they go away with time. They never oppose
The arsenic water or the nicotinic tea
Or the intolerable noise created by the stand-fans.

Those who’d roamed in the luxurious library once
Come off and on though years might pass
As if they’re addicted to take a look at the building
Bibliophile or nostalgic they might have gown!
But they pride to associate with it in short!

Note: This poem was first published in the journal Readers’ Mind, Vol.1, No.1. Oct-Dec,2004. A journal published by the National Library Readers’ Forum, Calcutta, India.


Election Scenery

Psephologists competing with their opinion polls
A prophecy they draw to the final hustings
Bouleversement for one wing; anti-incumbency for the other
They profess for the polls to be polled at the booths.

James W Lain’s Shivaji: the Hindu King in Islamic India
Or the burning Gujarat; or the Lucknow saree-stampede
Are the pawns of the Nationalists’ games in the fray.

The Rightists are not the less nationalist though
Men of foreign origin are to be kept at bay
For they aren’t ours, they advocate.
Xenophobic or panophobic they’re, it is hard to say
For strange to the imagination or the play
They granted the Diaspora a double privilege.
Of which the Constitution does not have precedence.
And many of the migrants are of yore, settled abroad
And well progressed in a more tolerant politique
And their acquired privilege is far above the parochialism
Back at home. They pride to associate with their neo-nationalities
Even many have expressed despotism and many are cynic
For the favour awarded, but all’s fair in the worlds’ largest democracy.

Note: First published in Meantime, Volume VI, Issue 02, Kerala. June 03,2004.