Marble
for Naveen Capoor
Giant slabs still greet you
On the way to Sursura
LPs stacked side by side
Here’s Miles, here’s Lou
And that’s Ella and in the corner,
Nina, she’s sulking
In a perfect triangle
Awaiting the ideal customer
Who pays in cash, doesn’t bargain
Asks for no discount
Even for carriage,
All the way to drawing rooms
Of Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore
Where the rich live
In mirrors of white.
This city- Kishangarh
Is now quiet as the stone it wears
Behind us, half shaven, smoking thin Elle lights
The new rich in town, absent from this place
Which is really no place
They are different, they do not read
Or listen to Dizzy.
But listen, shh,
That’s a peacock on the roof
And the peahen is back, the one who wrecked
Our perfect Christmas decorations
This last dazzle of light
Before we move in,
And think again, of moving out
Once this storm has cleared.
Amlanjyoti Goswami has a collection of poems entitled River Wedding (Poetrywala). His poetry has been published in journals and anthologies around the world and also on street walls in Christchurch NZ, exhibitions in Johannesburg, an e-gallery in Brighton and buses in Philadelphia. He grew up in Guwahati, Assam and lives in Delhi.
