Travelling Thoughts

The prompt is to "mix up" four things and use them to write a poem. These things have to be an interior object (here, motes of dust), an exterior object (here, the dry leaves of the banyan tree), a print item (here, a travel brochure) and a media item (here, a TV contest).


Travelling Thoughts

Sitting in my rocking chair today,
I picked up the "European Adventure" brochure
of SOTC Travels Pvt. Ltd.:
Free this and free that, offered
On top of a heinously exorbitant main fee ...
I snickered at the piece of colourful lie, and putting it aside, I turned on the TV:
Cool offer of a contest beamed back at me -
Just tell us if it was Michael Jackson or Michael Mouse
who sang the song "Beat It", and win -
A free tour for two to the mighty US of A! -
said the emcee on air.

Once again, I laughed,
At the vainglorious world around me;
Outside my home, there blew a pleasant wind,
bringing with it the dry leaves of the Banyan tree,
While inside, the dust motes travelled round and round,
No beginning and no end to their meanderings-
A Brownian adventure, like bacteria in a Petri-dish ...
The world, after all, is also round.
Such a small place.
Desires to roam it bloomed in my mind;
I reached for a paper and started scribbling my name and the answer - Michael Jackson.
I simply needed
To be carried with the tide of
this crazy world.

© Dr. Taher Kagalwala, 2004