Thursday, June 2, 2016

Nalini Priyadarshni writes

Love in Times of Intolerance
 
After ample poison has been spewed
we are rebuked for not being tolerant enough
for exposing our armpits that reek with dismay
when our bloodied hands fly to cover our gaping mouths  
to company they offer tea with faces writhed in spurious smiles
who might get offended by underbelly we mirror 
 
Seen maybe, but never heard
marginal have no business to nurse opinions
sniffing dissent at the door of our refrigerators
they manufacture truth in dark alleys that
arrives at our doorstep on yellow fliers next morning
where addled mob wait for us to swallow it right away
or pay the price of regurgitating it on the sidewalk
 
Juggling irreverent verses in your pocket
you incite me to churn out some of my own
by shoving a handful of yours down my neckline
They slither down like ice cubes and leave a puddle on my lap
making me squirm with pleasure and grow audacious
regret of unspoken won’t be my nemesis
 
When there is nothing more to be said
we hold hands listening intently to silence
broken occasionally with crackling of my sinews
as you seep in and around my bones
to intertwine with my marrow  
There will be no turning back from here
 
TV does not distract us now
with its inane political diatribe
It’s just some background sound
We refuse to give in to the fear
that this world will come to an end
before we have run out of silences  
 

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