see, here's the union pole, its end
shaped like a sickle, the red flag billowing from it,
and there, across the road, the golden arches
of the McDonalds.
this is not the first time i'm using such a juxtaposition
to symbolize how extreme difference coexists in this country
but what's different this time around
is that i'm telling you where i'm standing.
i've grown enough sense of self
to not be indifferent to everything.
i'm no longer just eyes.
my eyes have grown feet.
see, my eyeleg gets off from the bus
and drinks a normal jigarthanda
from Famous Jigathanda... since 1979.
then an orange juice made by a bihari migrant man
with whom i exchange broken pieces of tamil.
on the way back home i'm walking
between the crucifix of the incoming headlights
and the falling dark of the shadow wall
when i see these three nonjuxtaposed things:
a small red fire, a smaller white puppy,
and the smallest possible pebble of blue hope.
~ ajay
1/7/2024
