Guillotine

To bite into a chicken’s fried leg

And tear it with a twist of the head

Lick the morsel stuck on the cheek

With the gravy dribbling down the chin…

To light and draw deep on a cigarette

And watch the plume rising

Or the rings reluctantly vanishing

Gazing at the clouds rolling by…

To fondle a glass of whisk y

And listen to the ice clinking

The nip in the air fading

As the cool breeze waltzes by…

To stretch back on the park bench

And ruminate on nothing

Content, still, fulfilled

And admire a young girl passing by…

Then-

Your woman glares –

For the cholesterol is rising

Your doctor preaches –

For Hypertension is bounding

Your friend patronizes –

A prognosis of Cirrhosis

And your mind – please don’t!

Playing tricks of geriatrics…

Why do simple pleasures come

Gilt in guilt?

************** Balachandran, 20-10-2008, Trivandrum