Prabhakar Subramaniam

It is where lies come readily

Without any prompting
...

Someone doesn't want the earth
To give up its dead
For the dead, he knows, do tell tales
That will nail the lies of those
...

When the lights blow out

Urchins erupt in joy
...

Silence is not always consent
It could be a loss of words
Even a loss of faith in words
Perhaps, a pause, for something else
...

A wall not seen as a wall

Is the one difficult to pull down
...

We, devotees, were asked
To go through a metal detector,
Frisked for belt-bombs
Our bags were searched
...

When you wake up

In the strange place
...

I've not seen for long, the sun rise
Like this, before my sleepy eyes
I had almost forgotten
It could be as red or as swollen
...

Like the Van Gogh scene
In 'Dreams'
I took the road
In 'Playground'*
...

Finally the victory stand
Was ours for the taking
We took turns on it
Those who could only cheer
...

As I pace the terrace
In the cover of the night
I guiltily think
Of the hours
...

Every dawn I invoked
The smell of rain
When I doused the frontyard
I swept free of yesterdays
...

What stories do you tell your grandson
Who wants newer and newer ones to be told?
The stock of mythology is soon spent,
Adventure stories you were brought up on
...

The ad carried
A statutory warning
'Watching this
Can be injurious
...

He spoke in a tongue

That seemed familiar
...

In this sun-weary city

December is spring
...

Say only the words
I want to hear,
It is the truth
I truly fear,
...

Do you remember who taught you
Your first word
Or what it was?
The universal one
...

Illuminated paper stars

Dance joyously
...

He wore only a loin-cloth
And a towel around
His neck like a tie,
Sat on the pyol
...