Khadakti Khidkiyan/Paanch-Peher

I
The other day I was standing at the metro platform
Waiting for a train
A crowd of women waited in that area
Hovering around
Like hungry eagles
Eager to rapture the first seat they can lay their asses on
Well, anyhow the metro yielded a half scream from inside the tunnel
I looked up, out of my book
And I saw the metro bolt its way in
And I saw through the windscreen of the driver’s seat
a woman
And right about then
In that knife edged precise moment
The metro yielded the same halfcry again

II
I stand at the metro platform
Waiting for the right train that'll carry me to the right destination
And I sometimes feel scared
Charged with the negative energy that if i stand too close to a person
They might
They just might
Ebb me on to the tracks
This theory of conspiracy might make me sound deluded
But I've had enough life lessons on how not to rely on humans
Known or unknown
Yet still
I give love and compassion every time I can
Thinking and believing
That love begets love

III
I don't believe that time and platform number the station information board tells me
I have lived and relied enough on people and watches as boards and have now come to deposit that part of me
I am making experiences
Every day
On the go
And while am at it
I am learning things

from scratch


IV
This auto I ride in had four rear view mirrors
I can see my reflection in all four of them
A mug shot in the extreme right one
Only my face with a spring of hair in the one next to that
The extreme Left one shows just my left profile, conceals and does not reveal the right part of me
While the other left mirror, that shows my face covered with hair that bobs in the slight summer haze of May 10,
Slightly less hot as compared to the other summer hazes the

V
Small everyday games I like playing with you
I tell you I won't drink from today onwards
And for a long long time
And I ask you
Will you still meet me