Mumbai Monsoon Poem by Satish Pendharkar

On the windswept Marine Drive
Tumid, raging waters raise their hood
Hissing, cobra-like; spewing venom
Then withdrawing into the Arabian Sea
A tiger's retractable claws
Awaiting the next opportunity to smite

At Parel, black and yellow Fiat taxis
Cleaving the low-lying waters
Moses parting the Red Sea
School-students in drenched uniforms
Thrusting their umbrellas
Warding off the resultant spray

Family-members in Sewri viewing
The television-news perched
On plastic-stools - the islands
Of the archipelago that
Their shanty stands transformed into
The relentless ingress of rainwater

The balcony of a Juhu apartment
Affording a view of the beach
Two lovers interrupt their embracing
Look out through slanting rain
The sands awash with the refuse
The nauseated sea has refused.