Another End

Tonight is quiet.
In two inches
Of water turned wine
I can hear the slow slither
Of an entire year.

A whine,
Of early,cold months
In a window stuck half open.
The hoot of glee
That was a mid-semester break,
A week of lassitude. Ennui.
The whistling of the wind
As you and I wound into the hills,
Bickering,
As loud as that passel of brats
That nightmare brood.
The nagging of the sea
That followed me ashore,
And made sure
I'd take you along
To lie by her side again.

Tonight
I'm unchained,
Held tenuously to the night
By this one glass
And its twin,
That purple bit of gloss
A little mine, a little yours.

R.I.P.?

When you protest rape
I hope you realize
It makes you a hypocrite
If
You go back home
And
Wait for your wife to make tea
To bring food to the table
To get the children in bed
To have sex when you want.
If
You're the wife
And
You must do all the above
Because that's how things are.
If
You ask your sister
Where she's going
When she'll be back.
If there will be boys.
If
You will, tomorrow
Gawk at a girl.
Laugh with your friends
As she passes by.
If
Without
Pasting links on Facebook
Using trending hashtags on Twitter
Changing your profile pic to a dot
Carrying placards
You will not remember
Not one,
But a hundred women
Were raped on December 16.
More than one died.
More than one does not
Rest In Peace.

Goa Diary #2

It is so easy to slip into an old skin. To light up that one last cigarette. That never quite lives up to that onerous title. To have a beer with breakfast. To sleep in.
Takes a little more time to wear a new one. To let go of walls. Literally. To wash under the sky. To walk barefoot. To smile at a stranger. To learn to be still.

Goa Diary #1

After some time you forget that the fisherman or his toothless crony are keeping up a barrage in a language you don't understand. After some time, you don't mind that the husband has scooched into the far end of the boat. You lose track of time. There is no external world. There is only that blue expanse. You forget grocery lists and chores and that the dog needs a new chew toy. All that matters is that hint of a fin. That flash of a dolphin belly. That sweep of white that was a gull.