Not cocaine, but our first cigarette
As the quarter moon shone
With the bright Venus below it...

Our house, full of teenagers
And hordes of books in shelves
Lining the walls....

The Telerad radio with the laughing green eyes
Blaring songs from Yuvavani, Calcutta
Abbas and Boney M and The Carpenters...

As Ramesh, our pal, and the DJ
Reeled off our names,
Careful not to leave out anyone...

The record player on, the hall turned instantly
Into a ballroom with powdered floor
And dimmed lights...

Our clothes the slithering sheen of snake's skin.
A bottle of sherry begged off Uncle
In a wine cup with a slice of lemon,
Just so...

And our first cigarette.
We inhaled, trying to blow up rings -
But choking and sick instead....

Millie, the tough guy
Puts up a show of bravado
As she sips her sherry
And smokes....

My mother wisely turns a deaf ear
And a blind eye
To our girlish curiosities
Knowing that this is spring...

Yes, Ramesh is now drowned and dead
Millie has flown westward
And Roshni, a faded spinster....

And we three children,
Responsible spouses and parents
With aching hearts,
As we spend time away from each other.

May 14, 2006

The Week of May 14, 2006        
A Serene Goodbye by Jayalakshmi V 
Agony by Julia Dutta 
Anticipation by Jyotsana K. Prasad  
Called Upon by Dr. Christine Redman-Waldeyer
Colors of this World by Jayalakshmi V
Freedom by Julia Dutta
I Don't Know Why by Sandra Martyers
I Look Back and Look Forward by Anil K. Prasad 
Konarak by Anil K. Prasad  
Kovalam Beach by Sony Dalia 
Leave the Mountains by Dr. Christine Redman-Waldeyer
Lost Baggage by Anita Nair 
Lying on Your Side of the Bed by Julia Dutta 
My Mother's Brocades by AJ Rao  
Nude by Dr. Christine Redman-Waldeyer
Of Cocaine, Snakes and Quarter Moons… by Glory Sasikala Franklin 
Poems by AJ Rao  
Requiem for a Consonant by Anita Nair
Soul 2001 by Dr. Christine Redman-Waldeyer
Strange and Distant by Bernie McCann 
That’s what you do for Good Poetry by Glory Sasikala Franklin 
The City of Joy by Glory Sasikala Franklin 
The Dreams Persist by AJ Rao 
The New Present by Jyotsana K. Prasad  
The Passing of Grandfather by Sandra 
The Season of the Native by Dr. Uma Asopa
Visions of Rejection by Julia Dutta
Wedding Album by Anita Nair 
Winner or Loser by Chan Mongol  
Witness by Julia Dutta 
  

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