by M. Mohankumar
I would have passed them by, as I often did,
but this time, as I entered the hall, their smoke-filled,
alcohol-scented conversation stopped suddenly and
a silence fell, an awkward, leaden silence and,
they looked at each other and looked down sheepishly
Then, one of them, the one with nicotine-tinted
fingers blew smoke into the air and beckoned to me
insouciantly; but I excused myself and passed on,
wondering what they were talking about,
perhaps the latest salacious scandal of the town,
they being part of the ever-grinding rumour-mill.
But why did they stop suddenly as they saw me
in the doorway? Was I the subject – or the object?
I felt a bit uneasy for a day or two, then forgot
all about it. Till I sat down this morning to write
a poem, and went on staring at the blank page
and then the whole scene flashed across my mind.
And I thought, why not make a poem out of it?
Pic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/
Mohankumar has published seven volumes of poetry in English. His poems have appeared in almost all reputed literary magazines in print in India. His first collection of short stories in English, ‘The Turning Point and Other Stories’ has been published by Authorspress, Delhi . Mohankumar retired as Chief secretary to Government of Kerala.
