K.S.Subramanian Subramanian (Chennai, India)

On a lease of hope

Steady patter of rain,
moistening the crevices
of dry, scorched soil;
Fatigued souls, unsighted
for once to the unexpressed
cobwebs at heart, lighten
up a bit; like an eagle's wing
caressed by damp wind;
A query, often laced with
worry, springs - will it see
off a parched tongue this year?

In this city, the rattle of the
Juggernaut is faint now,
The candle in weaver's home
gasping for the last flicker;
Yet startling designs keep
the market spinning;
Many- splendored banners
waft with promises in the air;
Lips open half in hope
clam up in uncertainty;
Years too on a lease of hope?

Eyes sly, set for a kill
to make a pie at all cost;
Eyeballs rocking on the arc
of malice for nothing; Not eyes
suckling on serenity;
Years ago they warmed to
a word of kinship;
Now self-absorbed, opaque
like a cloudless sky.
Irises graying in flecks of fears.
eyeless on the plains of limestone?