I DREAMT I WAS A HOME

Last night,
I dreamt I was home.

I woke to find myself
In the same bed

I slept in
Last night.


SERMON

Chandni Chowk,
Delhi-6,
whatever you're called,
remember,
your charm is in the clueless coitus of wires,
the cellotaped scooters,
and in the casual way you walked into the dictionary
as a synonym for cacophony.

No one disobeys rules the way you can-
innocently, like a child.
The day you straighten yourself up,
you will become an adult. That's certain.
When this happens,
Delhi will lose its own child,
its sole child.


MY BROTHER ASKS ME TO STAND UP

My brother asks me to stand up
so that he can measure his height.
I always looked down towards him
so it never occurred to me
that he had grown.
He asks if I am six feet;
he will then be five nine.
I know that it takes years to grow tall,
but now I feel he grew from five feet five
to five nine in these six months
when I was away from home.