Freedom met Hope and other poems

1.
She decided to become a poet
Write beautiful songs

That night
Her knee-length black hair
Turned whitish grey
Even as she slept


2.
Truth is discoverable
But is truth a he? Or a she?
Perhaps deception?
Or a game we're losing


3.
Freedom met Hope
In the back seat of a ST bus
They started a relationship 
When Hope paid for the bus ticket
This led to marriage
They travelled
Sometimes standing
Sometimes on top of the bus
Moving from one town to another

One day, Hope was abandoned
Was informed, "Mr H, Utopia is not healthy
Our people encounter grief"
They want fishes
To fly
Instead of swim

Freedom was not permitted to accompany Hope
She continued with her nomadic life
Given the nature of the times
She frequently changed places of residence
Took up temporary causes

One day, there was a knock on the door
That's when she fled
Forever


4.
He holds a photograph
Of a village near Hingni 
That may vanish, in entirety, in a space of a few days
Due to 558 registered suicides (so far)
This year

More people die of smallpox and snake bites
He says, with a smile


5.
Accursed questions: when will you stop asking them
Asked the ruler
As he flogged the sea waves
For disobeying his diktat