sometimes wake up holding shape in suspense
did gutter catch ball before fielder did?
if yes peeking there from shadows shingled
on silence— baithook form of breathing with
hands queased in pockets like fish in redtides.
was it boredom doubt or distrust that cut
earthworm in two to see if it's true they never
died when divided but bided then multiplied.
go get from gutter twenty rupees rubber ball
that bursting revealed salt inside as if tears dried—
only small whys fending off claws of big whys
like civets scuttling on roofs scared by redder eyes.
ball's red hope caught reeled in— can i play too?
handed over to cold— maybe next times. go back
to shadows and silence remembering red hope
chafing against slow flow of gutter's low tide
in quiet sense of acquiescence as if tears drying.
~ ajay
11/7/2022
