An Experiment Poem by Boudhayan Mukherjee

Now.Put off the light
And see how the cigarette burns
Your bed sheets, your black fuzz of hair
Growing denser every night.
Now. Throw off the ash,
The handcuffs of your watch,
Observe the glorious fire
Burn with an indigo flame
The mosquito net, the imported
Oil prints of Gaugin,
Your soft childhood posture
Stacked carefully on the frame.
Now. See the fun of the growing fire
Open the windows ajar
And let the flames dart higher
Till it touches the painted ceiling
Without the help of a supporting ladder.
See.How voracious it is
As it licks your valuables,
Probably a well-stacked wardrobe, television,
The noisy record player, the teak-wood bookshelf,
The pair of umbrellas kept for the rains,
The folding sofa, your wife's favorite love-letters
Kept secretly, before she went away
To her mother's.
Now.You are free
To make this serene experiment.