Poetry at Sangam

SangamHouse

 










AN EXTRA IN THE INFERNO by Suhit Kelkar

I came to you                     You gave me no lines
reservoirs of darkness            spill from my eyes
flow into my lungs                wash away traces

of bush fires                     that crackled there
wash away charred                  warped blackened
forms frozen                      in terminal spasms

strewn across                     a layer of ashes
amid standing husks               of tree trunks
darkness has fallen               at last I can sleep

when I hear                        Cut!
and I return                       to Paradise theatre
for a pittance                     says the usher

the director’s cut:                more roles available
no thanks I say                    I must be going
I step out of the theatre          the theatre doesn’t end

and I am back                      Paradise
there’s been a mistake         the scriptwriter says
sorry                              do the scenes again

I say                              a meatier role please

 

 

← Suhit Kelkar