by M. Mohankumar
‘You have absolute freedom,’ he said,
‘to choose between the two.’
A wry smile played on his face.
‘That’s no freedom,’ I replied. ‘I have
the right not to choose or choose
something else. Nobody can curtail it.’
‘You have to choose between the two,’
he said, his voice gruff and menacing.
‘You have to choose here and now.’
Choose between
‘tweedledum’ and ‘tweedledee’?
Hobson’s choice was no doubt better.
I would not buckle under pressure.
I faced him frontally. To my surprise,
he dropped the mask, and waved me away.
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.
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