Power-Mongers
repulsed
seeing the same
faces
popup daily on
every channel
plastic smiles
eyebrows tweezed
front face
side profiles
hooked noses
doffing hats
turbans
fit for every occasion
caricatures on stage
full of rhetoric
waving hands
fingers
accusingly pointing
promising to the
gullible
employment
peace
equality
capped with
caramelised
topping of burnt
sienna
just like the
top
of creme Bulle
…pause
holding breath
for the applause
as though that
alone
is validation
of winning
ludicrous!
there comes a
time
fatigue sets in
playing to the
galleries
numbers
start dwindling
starts thinning like diluted milk
Does bombardment
cease?
no way
an image
reimaged
cosmetically
changed
power…disease of
impotent
© Snigdha Agrawal
Then There Was Dust
how could she
fit
into such a
small space?
a whole reduced
to fine dust
as she emptied
the urn
into the river
Ganges
her gateway to
heaven
little at a time
clasped in her
fist tight
reluctant to
open
wind could be
cruel
denying her
passage
she couldn't let
go
of her last
remains
lingering on
some stolen
‘Touch moments’
running out of
time
ghats*on the
bank
wears a necklace
of lights
hers fused
once Ma left her
hands
Her whole
reduced to ashes
*ghats (set of
stairs leading to the river)
© Snigdha Agrawal
Let Us Be
The old cabin
still
stands at the
edge
of the forest
tattered
curtains
made out of
grandma's
unused aprons
hanging from
windows
minus glass panes
Overgrown grass
covers
the rusted
lawnmower
looking like an
ancient
upturned turtle
unmended fences
like broken
stained teeth
appears in the
distance
as if mocking
inmates
The car sits on
its belly
weeds growing,
like hair
from the ears of
the
old colonel
Spirits of the
dead
whisper
"This isn’t a home
anymore.
Go. Please leave
us
with our
memories"
©Snigdha Agrawal
SNIGDHA AGRAWAL
SNIGDHA AGRAWAL (nee Banerjee) is
Bengali born, raised, and educated in a cosmopolitan environment, with exposure
to the Eastern and Western cultures, imbibing the best of both worlds. With more than two decades of experience
working in the corporate sector, her outlook on life is balanced, which is
reflected in her writings. A versatile writer, she writes all genres of poetry,
prose, short stories, travelogues, and hotel/restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor,
under the pen name ‘puchka’. A published
author of four books, the latest titled TRAIL MIX, is a book of short stories
for all mindsets. The book is available on Amazon. An intrepid traveller, her
travel diaries can be accessed in her blog: randomramblings52. She lives in Bangalore (Karnataka), India.
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