I have seen
the devil
I have heard
it scream
it is scary
but it has
its weaknesses
its fears
which I realised
and was able to
tame it
for a while
but before long
it tore
through the roof
of my life
and left me
a wreck
now I crawl
on all fours
howling
like everyone else
from whom rises
the continual
bloodcurdling cry.
its people
its land and water
and everything
has been poisoned
the animals the birds
the fish are all messed up
and we humans have turned
ourselves and our planet
into garbage
we are digging our own graves
we don’t give a shit about life
and death and our children
or anyone or anything else
we have no meeting point
we collide into each other
having lost our senses
we crawl on the ground
and drink our own blood.
I crawl
like a reptile
and the music
is blaring
full of colour
over the hills
and forests
of Kumily
the world
is old and
mad and you
will not
understand it
the trees scream
and there is
nothing
I can do
I keep
creeping along
slave
the sky shouts
what have
you become
and before
I can answer
an angry
autorickshaw
full of noise
and speed
runs over me
and I lie
crushed here
on the street
dead and squelched
which someone
kicks away
in a corner.
towards me
and embraces me
while I stutter and fall
O life is a beggar’s bowl
there is nothing at the end
and all along you have to crawl
like a worm and then there is
the collapse of the body
and the mind
all confusion and disarray
and you are down on the ground
crying
trying to reach out
to see if someone can lend
you a hand
but now you are beyond repair
misery fills your veins
with its dark blood
your flesh is heavy
your brain burns out
and you die.
and said
I would like
to see you
one-legged
blind
and begging
I looked the demon back
in the eye
and said
I am prepared
for anything
even death
then it trembled
in fear
and it could not look me
in the eye anymore
it cowered and crawled
around my feet
and offered me
food to eat
and I ate the bread
the demon offered me
and let it go in peace
as it is the only thing
that puts us all at ease.
Dominic Alapat 