I Land In The Ocean

I Land In The Ocean (and pardon the puns)

with all due respect
(a phrase that, in life, one also uses before the bench)
today i'm looking at the other suspect
of who uses such jargon

parts of our extended clan
(though don't forget, the earth's my span
for now).

khamangani:
a sort of reverential greeting
has always sounded like
come-again
to me at such meetings.
while hukum obviously
begs the question
of howcome
as heard by southie aunts
while registering
the counter-grammatical stance
that that would involve.

notwithstanding,
i stand absolved
of these niceties
and somehow manage to please
the company.

this brings me to the east india question
(the closest i've come
is the possession
and imbibement
of volumes from [yon] [the] times
of our empire's recession.
And black n white photos
from the selfsame age
that also heralded the postage
stamps
and so on).
(Its an interesting sign of the times
that some of these snaps
are back on one wall
at least
here at Fort Kurupam
- the centrifuge that plays the drum
these days).
Oh my!
Oh, me?!

anyway, having wished people on their registered birthdays
i discovered a while ago
that there are ways
in which princesses could expand empire
take the entire debate
one nautch higher
with their expertise
more in the region
of growing trees
and grassroots, please,
as far as democracy goes.
now we're on our toes
watching the Indian Ocean
craning our necks,
looking out for fisherfolk, sea urchins, all subjects
of the tiara and the arc
placid times, pacific spark.

the nitty-gritty
and devil's details
might be well understood
by those in veils
while simultaneously
cooking up a storm
for complicated recipes
that might be their daily norm
before making it
to the dining-table:
we'll row our boats
to where we're able.

this shall be negotiated peacefully
on multi tracks
just remember that chinese healers
aren't exactly quacks
(and neither are we)
not even when it comes
to democracy!

By V. Shruti Devi (quill-o-the-wisp)