Fish Curry Poem by krishnakumar chandrasekar nair

Deep fried, black and brown with tail intact
In spiced gravy staring at me- a piteous sight
Sad eyes waiting for the fork of a diner’s attack
And so resigned to a fate of a gourmets delight

I prodded him lazily and he seemed to wince
Could it be that he did not quite approve
So I laid down the fork and took a hard look
Again there he lay helpless and so fully cooked

The waiter stopped and gave me a cursory glance
“ All’s well I hope Sir, with the special dish”
I nodded, then took a spoonful of gravy bland
And reluctantly finished the meal sans the fish

As I paid the bill and sauntered out confused
I felt the graven look of the one on the leftover dish
Staring at me - the one who preferred to keep status quo
And keep him suffering with his curry filled innards as it is