21 May 2015

Midnight in Mumbai

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 7:09pm


walking its streets at midnight
air dense with the odour of sweat
that of toil in stifling heat

blinded by the shimmering skyline
barely do i hear, even if i strain,
the waves of the sea afar

there's that girl, pretty in whites,
fucked many a time and loved never
haggling for her price for the night

there's that man, standing in dark
alone and looking into darkness
his cigarette spark, the only light

that baby, all of three years,
far from the arms of its mother
sleeping on the bed of dust

those midriffs that crave for touch
and those that quiver in cold
hiding alike the tales of regret

a city is many cities within
how many can i walk this night
with two feet, loath and languid

i pretend i don't see
the filth, strife and grief
the inescapable loneliness

as i pretend, the city does, too
that my words do not matter
and prepares for another dawn

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