leela chakrabarty
Lost in this Asphalt Jungle
Where are you, May May?
I long to see you.
I still remember that fateful day-
You made the decision to leave,
Your mother cursed and disowned you.
You left and our lives changed.
May May, this is the exact spot where we used to spend our days-
under the magnanimous Saga tree.
How we could not resist the temptations
to get hold of the tiny red saga seeds
liberated from their pods
dispersed around the tree.
Ah – a faint fragrance of orange blossom lingers in the air
Our little hands pick the shiny red seeds
as they play hide and seek
hiding among the green grass- trying to peek!
Where are you May May?
Now the curse has hit me too-
My heart skips a beat
as I inhale carcinogens
released by the black amorphous residue
from the coal tar pitch!
No more Saga tree
No more tiny red seeds
Only the ones I had tucked in a matchbox.
Only memories.
Where are you May May?
I can’t see you. I am lost in this asphalt jungle!
Princess of Mount Ophir
Oh- Princess of Mount Ophir;
wooed to be the wife of the Sultan.
I read so many of your stories-
In many different versions,
with countless different interpretations
on the subject of your conditions.
Ah…the seven set of impossible ones
Oh-what a bout of book learning;
The time has come-
I will but improvise them;
All the seven!
Such that it becomes of relevance-
to the people of my generation.
Here goes my improvised version-
A golden spacecraft for my travels,
Seven shining “ASIMO’s to keep me company,
Seven barrels of Channel No 5 to symbolize my luxurious simplicity,
Seven barrels of Horseshoe crab blood to test all medical products
Seven grams of Antimatter to use as fuels for my space crafts
Seven kilograms of tritium for my lightings and
a silver bowl of scorpion venom to treat your multiple sclerosis!
Leela Chakrabarty is a former lecturer who is pursuing passion for writing after optional retirement from UPSI (Sultan Idris Education University). She has written in both genres- fiction and non-fiction. Now writes for New Straits Times and conducts MUET workshops.
In Poet's own words with regards to 'Lost In This Asphalt Jungle' Princess of Mount Ophir': Inspired by differences in perceptions.
Where are you, May May?
I long to see you.
I still remember that fateful day-
You made the decision to leave,
Your mother cursed and disowned you.
You left and our lives changed.
May May, this is the exact spot where we used to spend our days-
under the magnanimous Saga tree.
How we could not resist the temptations
to get hold of the tiny red saga seeds
liberated from their pods
dispersed around the tree.
Ah – a faint fragrance of orange blossom lingers in the air
Our little hands pick the shiny red seeds
as they play hide and seek
hiding among the green grass- trying to peek!
Where are you May May?
Now the curse has hit me too-
My heart skips a beat
as I inhale carcinogens
released by the black amorphous residue
from the coal tar pitch!
No more Saga tree
No more tiny red seeds
Only the ones I had tucked in a matchbox.
Only memories.
Where are you May May?
I can’t see you. I am lost in this asphalt jungle!
Princess of Mount Ophir
Oh- Princess of Mount Ophir;
wooed to be the wife of the Sultan.
I read so many of your stories-
In many different versions,
with countless different interpretations
on the subject of your conditions.
Ah…the seven set of impossible ones
Oh-what a bout of book learning;
The time has come-
I will but improvise them;
All the seven!
Such that it becomes of relevance-
to the people of my generation.
Here goes my improvised version-
A golden spacecraft for my travels,
Seven shining “ASIMO’s to keep me company,
Seven barrels of Channel No 5 to symbolize my luxurious simplicity,
Seven barrels of Horseshoe crab blood to test all medical products
Seven grams of Antimatter to use as fuels for my space crafts
Seven kilograms of tritium for my lightings and
a silver bowl of scorpion venom to treat your multiple sclerosis!
Leela Chakrabarty is a former lecturer who is pursuing passion for writing after optional retirement from UPSI (Sultan Idris Education University). She has written in both genres- fiction and non-fiction. Now writes for New Straits Times and conducts MUET workshops.
In Poet's own words with regards to 'Lost In This Asphalt Jungle' Princess of Mount Ophir': Inspired by differences in perceptions.