© 2006 Ashok Niyogi

TASKS

Let me put myself
In the bear's shoes
And lap up the honey
While the bees sting,
I keep telling the bear
To smoke them out,
As does the human being.

The lion mother
Admonishes her cubs,
"Don't forget to floss your teeth,"
I keep telling the lion mother,
Dentists in Silicon Valley
Have it all worked out.

The antelope's shanks quiver
As it senses the tiger near,
I must fit these antelopes
With rear view cameras
From Japanese cars.

The Siberian crane inevitably knows
The shortest route to tropical lakes,
But for better traffic control,
I must equip them with GPS.

Stories my grandma spun,
Embellished by crows' feet
Around her eyes,
I will write for my grandsons now,
Before I check in
For my face-lift.

PRAYER

Good boys say good prayers
Before the sleeping pills kick on,
The day's distractions
Come and go,
Pull back your mind,
Kneel,
See the light,
Laser pointed between your eyebrows.
Let your skull become petals
Of the lotus in full bloom,
Cosmic bliss,
Bliss on planets
Revolving twinkling stars.
Give me pain,
Whiplash me with sorrow,
Let me grow old
And slow,
Wither me away,
Let my days
Giggle like concubines.

STILL LIFE

Mix some 7-UP
With the water in the vase
Put in a quantity of plant food
And in the single shaft of afternoon light
Through the Venetian drapes
The Lilies will bloom
In the crowded room
I sit in comparative gloom
And run away with horses in Ulan Bator
Until its time for my evening walk
And then the inspection in the mirror
Chins tucked in chest puffed out
An analysis of alternative routes
With Lilies blooming in the room

All work is property of Ashok Niyogi.

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