Poem 1: Madras Mornings, by Tishani Doshi
Illustration Credit - Kalpana Balaji (http://kalpanabalaji.blogspot.in)
It is early in Madras
and the temple priests are busy
with their morning prayers
like the walkers an the joggers
and the coffee-makers at Hi-Cool
and Re-Lax and Maheshwari Snacks
and the bus drivers and taxi drivers
who've left their dreams in bed
and the vegetable sellers
and the call centre boys and girls
who are practising their accents
on their way to work
and the construction workers
with thermometer-shaped legs
and the stewards and the clerks
in brass-buttoned coats
Illustration Credit - Kalpana Balaji (http://kalpanabalaji.blogspot.in)
and the Air India pilots
sneaking their last smoke
and who've kissed
the children goodbye
and left instructions
with the maid
we who don't know how easily
the world moves without us
we are sitting upright in chairs
balancing trays on our knees
eating in the air