Hounds Poem by Anuradha Bhattacharyya

What hounds are these
That sniff at me;
Am I in decay?

Blood has trickled
Like perspiration
And left me smelly.

A death-like grip
Of inevitability
Has woken me.

The ghosts of my fathers
Haunt me,
I can not escape.

They encircle me -
A castrated carcass
In a sweat.

A pounding heart
Now no more
Can say.

O I know their call -
The forgotten familiar
Call for war.

Transpired fumes
Have gathered up
In mushroom clouds.

These clouds are formed
Of deceit
Saturated.

They'll fall;
Time has come
For retribution.

Father who sowed
Venom in my egg
Is dead.

My poor flesh
Barely born
Must pay.