Nissim Ezekiel Poems

I remember the night my mother
was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours
of steady rain had driven him
to crawl beneath a sack of rice.
...

In my room, I talk
to my invisible guests:
they do not argue, but wait
...

There is a place to which I often go,
Not by planning to, but by a flow
Away from all existence, to a cold
Lucidity, whose will is uncontrolled.
...

Unsuitable for song as well as sense
the island flowers into slums
and skyscrapers, reflecting
precisely the growth of my mind.
...

I am standing for peace and non-violence.
Why world is fighting fighting
Why all people of world
Are not following Mahatma Gandhi
...

This normative hill
like all others
is transparently accessible,
out there
...

To force the pace and never to be still
Is not the way of those who study birds
Or women. The best poets wait for words.
...

Some people are not having manners,
this I am always observing,
For example other day I find
I am needing soap
...

Remember me? I am Professor Sheth.
Once I taught you geography. Now
I am retired, though my health is good.
My wife died some years back.
...

The hills are always far away.
He knows the broken roads, and moves
In circles tracked within his head.
...