it is the biggest bully
I have encountered
and it is invisible
I cannot chase
and catch it
and ask
what’s your problem
who do I complain to
who can I turn to
for help
I am at the end
of my tether
strangling
in my sorrows
drowning in pain
in this pouring rain.
with pincers
they are breaking
my bones
with hammers
they take out
my eyes
with a spoon
then they chop
me into tiny pieces
and feed the animals
who gather around
to eat me
with such glee
those wicked people
say go on go on
it’s free.
in my life
a slew of problems
like mosquitoes
hover around me
and when they bite
I sink further
into turmoil
my mind and body
seem like different
entities
earlier they were
the same
existing in harmony
now they are at war
and they are both losing
I have got stuck
in the middle
I don’t know
what to do
lying down
in my bed
sitting in my chair
I feel such
despair
I simply can’t
shake off
so I get up
and wander
from room
to room
alienated
and slowly
I become
a ghost
even then
sorrow
is what
I experience
the most.
I tell myself
things will
work out
take it easy
but I feel
suffocated
with all
my problems
thinking
about this
and that
I put on
some music
and then
switch it off
I stare
at the floor
for long
feeling my heart
knock against
my chest
though I know
I am not alone
in my quest
all of us are
trying hard
to find solutions
to issues
we face
that is the
nature of
the human race.
my mind is like a bee
buzzing
thinking of
so many things
I need to do
wondering if
I will be able
to do them
then anxiety
starts squeezing
my heart
in its evil claws
and I am miserable
and ask myself
why was I born
into this world
O the torture
I have to face
everyday
it’s too much
for me to bear
and I plead
with life not to
leave me here
feeling so terrible
I say I don’t want
to live
it’s enough
enough
I’ve had enough
of everything
release me
from this bondage
right now.
is coming up
nearby
and the workers
are busy
hammering nails
into it
I want to
tell them
hammer nails
into my body
and finish me
first.
as I scream
in agony
they pull out
my arms
and legs
while I howl
in excruciating pain
then as they
remove
my internal parts
I lose consciousness
such is life
brutal
the same way
chicken is plucked
and killed
existence
finishes us.
and is hissing like crazy
my eyes are red
the serpent’s poison
has entered
my bloodstream
and I am thrashing about
from the pain
life is so horrible
why can’t it leave
me alone
why this wickedness
towards me
what did I do?
because someone
set it on fire
what a wicked thing
to do
and as we watch
bewildered
parts of the firmament
are falling on the Earth
and soon the planet
is ablaze
everywhere there is
screaming and shouting
the flames
are now leaping
outside my window
though I decide
to continue
with what I’m doing
so I sit here
writing this
as I turn into a puddle
of flesh on my chair
bubbling in my lair.
because I fear
that I’ve lost my ability
to write poetry
next door
everyone is playing
with the newborn baby
and the war
in the Middle East
is making me unhappy
very early in the morning
Kumily is like a ghost town
in the darkness
though buffaloes with bells
run along the streets
I don’t know
what I should do
with myself
I am in turmoil
like a snake I coil
I hug my sorrow
in bed
and wish I was dead.
Dominic Alapat 