Prompt for Hour one-

i.

a mildew stained coat,
dyed by a clever Rangrez*
in a russet brown shade
burnt on the pyre of miseries
and abandonment

embers caged in an Urn neatly placed on the Oak fire mantle.

ii.

rosary bead ingrained with
thoughts, prayers, and frailties
clasped in a Fakir pocket; lamented about the cultural legacy

besieged in architecture and folklores

 

ashes of broken beads float on the Ghats of Banaras.

iii.

With November Witch, an unannounced envelope

arrives from the other side of fences

the cryptic scent of Guerlain’s Shalimar

lingers on to reach its purpose- a vintage voyage

to cross over borders, taboos and hatred.

 

Autumn winds smell like an incense-stick breathing Hope.

iv.

A shadow lost in the roots of an Old lavender tree

the pink skin of poplars; the roughened surface of its

birch; sad about its bony existence

a wooly grin buried in the

pirate box; as long as stalks of wheat

 

Earth coughed up a thick mist- Ruins of Mohenjo-Daro.

 

Copyrighted by Ruchi Chopra, 2017.

Rangrez* Dyer

Fakir* Religious ascetic