A.J. Anwar writes

SCANDAL

They nip it just a little

            a small piece
then chew it
like chewing gum

they chew they munch
they blow it out

     play balloon in the mouth
and take it in again

chomp right and left, twitch
they sigh they shush
            they laugh outloud
and then spit it out in a jolt
right after the sweet itch
turned bland

"The scandal of it!" -- Matthias Robinson

A.J. Anwar writes

In Defence of Poets

A poet is, if

you permit,

an inflated

version of

intransiences

who utters

fewest, earthly,

words

believing

to have offered

the sacred world

to random

passers-by

on a busy

street,

while refuting

any oversight

or futility

or anything

otherwise,

and this might

include you

and I.

A.J. Anwar writes

On Election Day

your voice is a brick

together we build a wall
keeping falsehood out

your voice the nation needs
to shelter and nurture love
when votes speak up

your voice is the hope of all
a loud shout when united
for a home of the people

Nine men, incarcerated and mouthless -- Chandragupta Thenuwara