30 जून 2022

Interrogation of a Muslim: A Poem By Keki N. Daruwalla

I think of palaces in Junagadh
gargoyles affixed
to drainpipes in monsoons.

He is in khaki
Brits coined the word from ‘ash’
a tilak long as a walking stick
bleeds on his forehead.
Prisoner squatting on the floor, thinks
his mouth is a gargoyle.

I am not interested
in your crimes against the state—
all that is recorded in discs, phone taps
and our extractions from mobile phones.

I want your confession
on the crimes you thought
of committing.

--- Keki N. Daruwalla

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