FIVE POEMS

cremation in my yard

in my cellar
is the corpse
of a man
that died
a long time ago

the cops know
the man died

but they are busy

waiting and waiting
the hulk has shriveled
to a skeleton

i build
a pyre
in my yard

voices in the house
clamor
you cannot consign
you cannot cremate
you need clearance

k b (bush) gulati
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Frenzy

who could ever control frenzy
the fragrance that pervades every breath
the bounty whose hunter lies ensnared

who ever had power over life

beware the stranger
possessed by lust for your body

shattered i lie
my heart captive to a refrain

in the silver moonlight
lets create some fun

you wont talk
i wont either

K. B. (Bush) Gulati
Toronto, Easter Sunday 2005

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Majrooh’s Lament
(To His Cross-border Cousins)



What greater frenzy will you exemplify?
In angst we rent our garments four.

The shattered heart cries for repair;
Blood our only raiment.

Our zest in springtide excelled yours.
With friends we kept faith,
With grace we endured foe’s encomiums.

We then had dreams bigger than yours;
We now have regrets deeper than yours.

Seize every candle by the flame
In your quest for the zenith of dreams.

We hold safe the burns and blisters
We suffered in symposiums galore.

As we faced our assassins,
You looked on from afar.
Our losses no match for yours.


(The Cross-border Response)

Yours was detention ephemeral, Majrooh,
Here every laneway, every alley, every district is jail eternal.


K. B. (Bush) Gulati


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The M. I. Road Pedicab Driver
(Jaipur, June 2001)

Deaf
To the squeaks of dry reluctant wheels,
Oblivious
To the unrelenting midday sun and loo,
Beads
Rolling down glistening ebony,
With clockwork precision,
He coaxes his cab and passenger
Up the grade,
Inch by inch,
As he shifts
His hundred pounds, perpendicular
Now to the left pedal,
Now to the right pedal,
Now to the left
Now to the
Now to
Now

The passenger’s destination
His only voice.

K B Gulati

*******************************************
the trip

i hailed a taxi
i asked to be sped
to the airport
so i would not miss my flight

the cabby
sensing lucre
stalled

i missed my flight

i hailed a taxi
i asked to be driven home

the cabby meant well
but did not know the way

power failed

the streets were dark
the streets were silent

the signs read

NO STANDING ANY TIME
NO STOPPING ANY TIME
NO PARKING ANY TIME

k b (bush)gulati