Between Applause And Ash Poem by BASAB CHAUDHURI

Between the sky and the ocean lies a vast space full of imagination,
where ghosts and gods and dead kings and queens, and lesser mortals,
who once were and who are no more,
inhabit, procreate and live in affluence,
constantly envied for their luck or despised for their ill-luck
by those of us who walk the earth now.

Our sweat and tears, gold and silver,
will soon be meaningless, as we too,
will join that imaginary space,
where the square of 'i' is less than minus one -
conceptually ridiculous, fictitious, yet yes.

The imaginary space is full of deadly life, or living dead,
who are eulogized or hated in the history and philosophy of the world,
which we mug up,
pass examinations for, earn degrees,
and end up as clerks by paying money to nobles
who will join the imaginary space before us.

That is real imagination, or no imagination, or complete imagination, or fascination -
ugly and beautiful,
useless and useful,
funny men and fools,
getting a standing ovation from the crowd.