Sitting on a rock by the hillside,
My friend brought his boot down
On the scorpion, its tail
Upheld, inquisitively.
It did not try to escape
But swung its broken sting
My friend squashed it again
Grinding his boot on the crushed remains
Till it became indistinguishable from the black earth.
We were sitting in his garden
Admiring the Orchids and Anthuriums
As a non-descript snail crept by my feet.
I picked it up, held it to my face
Both wondering at each other.
But then my friend took it from me -
The crackle of the shell cracking
Reminded me of the Pappads I take with rice.
My friend rubbed his shoe on the grass
The gluey fluid stuck the blades together.
It was late evening
We had scotch and ice by our side
And the grass was cool beneath our feet.
As I listened to the croaking frogs
I remarked on a distinctive call.
My friend picked up a palmful of gravel
Threw it in the direction of the pool
Even the Cicadas were shocked to silence.
We were reminiscing about our younger days
How the world has changed
In the forty years since we parted ways.
How, on our way to school
Running over the culvert
Across the paddy fields
How my friend would grab
The little green grass snakes
By their tails and swing them
One swift, full swing
Like the riverside laundry-man
On to a rock and smash their heads
And laughing, fling them
Into the swampy field.
The paddy fields are gone
So is the pond we used to bathe in the nude.
It was a dark, cool night, our faces hidden in the shadows
The expensive scotch, pleasantly glowing in my belly.
In my friend's voice, I hear his spite and frustration
I could imagine the froth of dislike
Foaming at the side of his lips
Sparking and popping
As spittle dribbled down his chin.
I sat listening to him and wondered
How it would be to hold his head
Between my hands and slam it against the wall
To grind his face on the granite surface
And slam, again and again
Until his face became a ripe, red tomato.
*********** Balachandran, Trivandrum
"its tail
ReplyDeleteUpheld, inquisitively"
You held my imagination
inquisitively. Kudos
This is akin to a thriller type movie. What an image this presents. You could be another Sir Alfred Hitchcock writer...!!!! I agree..Kudos are in order...
ReplyDeleteprecisely..u shud b doing that oly..sick man.i hope u hit him atleast if not a tomato pulp
ReplyDeleteOh! How beautifully have you expressed your anger your anguish. Hats off....
ReplyDeleteGreat flow of words and thoughts. vivid imagery a master at his craft!! Brilliant work!
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ReplyDelete@everyone: Happy you liked it, though its suppressed violence may not be to the liking of some. The man's frustration and hatred is actually a pointer at the unreasonable anger and despise we all feel at sometime or the other to people we feel are lesser mortals than us. Like another friend, at me...
ReplyDelete@ Extremity: You should note that I am describing the scene dispassionately; even the thought of hurting my friend is just a wishful imagination. I am the kind who gets nightmares over stomping over a cockroach! :D. Moreover, I would like you to note that on the face of it, it is a simple narration of an incident, but I am trying to show the inner conflict in each of us, despite the calm and pleasant exterior. That is why I mix the contrasting scenes, the good and the bad in every moment of our lives...
"The crackle of the shell cracking
ReplyDeleteReminded me of the Pappads I take with rice "
The image i got made me shudder. But it is a great talent that you've got..your restraint.
Ask me , and i would have hit that friend on his face that let my anger remain in me.
violence infective...why are some people against the world? quite disconcerting to share scotch with them. reads like edgar allan poe. i can hear you breathing hard, anger still seeking vent.
ReplyDelete