Desicritics Author: temporal

poetry: whirling

temporal — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:04:28 EST

said the cab driver
as he swooshed and swirled
through the desi roads
with cars and carts
and men and machines
rushing, idling, squeezing
with a foot on the pedal
and a hand on the horn
'it is not my fault'

fault? blame? confession?

adam would have smiled

quakes, tsunamis,
holocaust, ethnic cleansing
greed that blinds
individuals and nations
precariously countered
by grit, will and concern
for adam's progeny
by eve's children
who descend to salvage
flustered dignity

conflict borne of heaven
fermented by earth
moving in circles
between the many dazed
and the unconfused few
who whirl

hirsute adam
unabashed and shaved
would have revealed
mona's first smile
(leonardo tells me)
metonymy for
'not-my-fault'

Nawwab and I: Turning to a Lamb

temporal — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:42:30 EST

N: Regrets? I've had a few...
t: What? Not again on Lucy's lawn?
N: But then again, too few to mention...
t: Thanks for confessions.
N: I did what I had to do....
t: Where is my poop-n-scoop bag?
N: This will take 4.40.
t: What are you talking about?
N: At 11am EST, Teddy Lamb would speak for 5 minutes.
t: Teddy Lamb? You mean a remorseful Tiger?
N: In five minutes, without questions he hopes to wipe it all clean.
t: Ah, the pseudo "press conference"... he certainly chewed more than he could digest.
N: Woof woof...you're a tad slow...as always.
t: Let's not go there or I will turn you over to the Humane Society.
N: You will never do it. You need me.
t: Just like the hydrant?
N: OK, stop being sarcotouchy.
t: I know what he would say.
N: "I regret letting down my family
t: ...and my friends...
N: .. and my fans...
t: ...I have sought help...
N: ...and am actively seeking rehabilitation...
t: ...(to repair my image, my handlers and enablers advise)
N: (He would never utter those words)
t: Just like he would never really own up.
N: ..."I would like to return to the game that is my life...
t: ...this time without all the women save one...
N:...and I seek your understanding and support
t: (Ladies please do not thrust yourself on me)
N: He will flash a sad smile and leave
t: ...as the select media scramble to report the non-event.
N: And Von-Siffers would form a fan club and cheer on when he shows up in India?
t: He will play in India?
N: Woof! Woof!
t: But this lamb is no Blue Eyes.

poetry: singin' the same songs

temporal — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 07:04:54 EST

Photograph by Rod March, U.S. Geological Survey

not only

in the middle of rab al khali

is the sun merciless, brainless

weary sun makes the round

the dogs have stopped crying

children do

but what do they know

of hopelessness?

in mahogany lined rooms

legends devise ways

channel funds through cayman

morsels of hope

to the land of self destructing misery

another jolt will bring forth

more mayhem

few sun revolutions later

hibernating misery will rumble

again

and you and i

will sing the same songs

again

and in mahogany lined rooms...

Nawwab and I: Invisible Chastity Belts

temporal — Mon, 4 Jan 2010 12:06:58 EST

credit

N: You should go into manufacturing.
t: Me? Manufacturing?
N: Well you have friends who can put this together. You don't have to mop the floors. Just put up some seed money, gather your friends and do a start-up and it will take off.
t: Arrggh! This is not another hare brained Syedtester? I suppose you have a product in mind?
N: Chastity belts.
t: Hmmmm...what have you been sniffing lately? And have you been inhaling it too?
N: Woof woof! Just because I am a dog ...
t: It has nothing to do with hydrants Nawwab!
N: Cheap shot.
t: OK. Apologies. But chastity belts are so passe.
N: You don't know.
t: The ultra orthodox use it...er thrust it....er imprison their women in it?
N: And Farhat Hashmi clones also encourage women to embrace it.
t: Embrace? How embarrassing.
N: Regardless of your revulsion there is money to be made here.
t: I am allergic to it.
N: Yes you are, but you use it. And now there is a niche.
t: Alright, you would not let me return to the Redskins unless I hear you out.
N: What is it with you and perennial losers? Leafs, Jays, Redskins?
t: Who mentioned cheap shots earlier?
N: Look, be serious. There is a huge market for Chastity belts.
t: Yeah, yeah BDSMs.
N: No, it is not about tops and bottoms. These are aimed at real people, orthodox, controlling who use it almost daily.
t: Hey, Nawwab you are serious about this.
N: Woof woof! In the wake of the CrotchBomber, airport security has been further tightened.
t: That delusional idiot! Now they would scan the whole body.
N:That is my point. Old chastity belts would show up on the body scanners.
t: And so you want me to manufacture invisible chastity belts?
N: Now you are barking... er talking.
t: And how would they be invisible?
N: Heard of stealth bombers? Modify the same alloys to escape body scanner detection. There, I gave this away.
t: You are incredible, Nawwab.
N: And with good marketing campaign you can sell it to both men and women.
t: Men also?
N: Why not? Don't they have....
t: OK no need to explain this further...some grown up children also read this.
N: And there is more. Once you develop this alloy that would not be detected by the body scanners, you can branch into coated nipple piercings.
t: You are on a roll Nawwab.
N: Woof woof, and Lil S says you can also coat tampons.
t: Now, that is a winner. Lil S? Do I know her?
N: How do you know she is a her?
t: I learn from you O Nawwab!

poetry: long live god

temporal — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:33:18 EST

the world looks ahead to 2010
as karachi buries its dead in 2009
unleashed by the delusionistas
the flickering fury of the mob blinded
rolls over red lava - burning, killing, maiming
the seeing blind cannot see the tears
that will not stop with time
the sleep walkers seek imagined prizes
and the denialistas do what they do best
blame others, finally the lines have blurred
difficult to discern between husain and yazid
between the believers gods invoked to kill
between sheep and wolf, between me and me
husain is dead, long live husain
god is dead, long live god

***

i have a craving for a bagel with cream cheese
and moca java and tried hard as i did
stricken and sad, i could not shake it off
the plight of the father who lost his young ones
the mother's inaudible sighs without tears
others frantic in their search for news
---any news
perplexed, agitated, and saddened me
but did nothing to curb the craving...

Another Bungled Blow-up: Passengers Safe, Suspect Apprehended

temporal — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 22:04:46 EST

Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on the runway after arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Amsterdam. Northwest and Delta have merged. (J.P. Karas / Associated Press)

They arrived safely. It was a merry Christmas for the 278 passengers aboard Northwest/Delta flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

Republican Congressman Peter King identified the suspect as Abdul Mudallad, a Nigerian. King said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit.

The alleged terrorist tried to set fire to an 'incendiary device' as the plane began its descent.

The suspect, identified by a U.S. government official as 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was placed in custody and is being treated for second- and third-degree burns on his thighs, according to federal law enforcement and airline security sources.

The sources said the suspect flew into Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on a KLM flight from Lagos, Nigeria, and is not believed to be on any "no fly" list, although his name does appear in a U.S. database of people with suspect connections. He did not undergo secondary security screening in Amsterdam, the administration official said.

The administration official said there was no evidence that Abdulmatallab was a hard-core, trained member of al-Qaeda.

According to Syed Jafri, who was sitting three rows in front according to CNN, or three behind according to CBC and L A Times, a young man jumped on the alleged terrorist and subdued him.

He suffered minor body burns and is being hospitalised.

***

Questions:

* How much more can the airport security be tightened?
* Is there a better way to detect potential terrorists?\/
* Will this lead to more racial and ethnic profiling?
* Why don't they stop all carry on save medicines, diapers and baby food?
* What is the IQ of the alleged terrorist? (The timing of the act).

poetry: gold fish

temporal — Wed, 9 Dec 2009 10:37:07 EST

credit

the surgeon general should warn one and all
hear ye! hear ye! google alerts are bad
for peace of mind - they herald news of wars
and calamities where innocence
is repeatedly raped and manhandled
women and children go in shock or worse
while they shop in bazaars or rest in homes
drones from distant lands rain death
the suicidal houri-seeker though
is very much local and no denizen
of lahore, kabul, peshawar, tehran
mumbai, new york, or london is safe

the collusion of friendly uncles
sam and osama company limited
global partners in death and destruction
their collusion and the circle of violence
swallows the young and enriches the rich
eisenhower called this the MIC
the shrinking Raj left troubles in its wake
for the MNC elders to profit
as the killing machines got better
their balance, mansions and yachts got bigger

the only way to be dismissive
and be happy is to be a gold fish
her alleged three second attention span
spells for me carefree happiness
but i cannot swim, i cannot swim...

Nawwab and I: Inconsequential

temporal — Mon, 7 Dec 2009 09:24:59 EST

Each cause has more than one effect, and these effects will invariably include at least one unforeseen side-effect. The unintended side-effect can be more significant than the intended effect. The "law" of unintended consequences

t: Rhythm.
N: Order.
t: Balance.
N: Sequence.
t: Consequence.
N: In-consequence.
t: Intentional?
N: Unintentional
t: Written
N: Written or unwritten.
t: In Law?
N: Forget in-laws
t: In Law? Legal?
N: Laws of unintended consequences*
t: hmmmmm....like this
N: Woof, woof.
t: When I agreed to take you in I had no idea...
N:...no idea of profiting from it.
t: Profiting from tidying up after you? Feeding you? Nursing you?
N: Don't go over board. You are way better company than that hydrant.

t: Ouch! For a well read dog you seemed to have missed out on gratefulness Nawwab.
N: And for a poet you have lost your muse.

***

t: Why are we watching Faux News?
N: To get a feel for their baying.
t: Bigotry?
N: Wrong b word. Business.
t: They do make money for Murdoch.
N: Smart not bigoted.
t: Bigotry raised to an art form.
N: As in iron and wood?
t: (smile)
N: Or as in rage and jealousy?
t: And infidelity.
N: Goes on to show money cannot buy you sense.
t: Or sensible PR aides.
N: Looks like he gave up before the first volley was fired.
t: Heard they were in intense therapy.
N: Character is what you are in the dark.
t: Who said that?
N: Abe or Moody.
t: Darkness and Light are the great levelers.
N: There, be careful...you are about to slip.
t: Both can be so blinding.

t: Omama is opting for surge and purge.
N: And then renege.
t: Are you hinting Vietnam?
N: What does war means for you?
t: Death, destruction, subjugation, politics by another means.
N: War is also oxygen, for big business.
t: Full freezer and empty bowls.
N: The eternal tussle between the haves and the have-nots
t: You should be a poet.
N: Don't deflect. Wars are about man's greed.
t: Greed is bottomless.
N: And wars never disappear.
t: MBIC.
N: Ike struck out bureaucrats. It is MIC.
t: Their dreams of dominating a world ...
N:...that would cease to exist if they win.
t: 2012?
N: Calendars are man made.
t: Why are you so enigmatic Nawwab?
N: Woof, woof.

Poessay: Rosary 35 - Alto Cumulous

temporal — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:13:26 EST

Poetry: tweems - tweet-poems

temporal — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:14:02 EST

rajasthan
she pulled her palloo
across her face
and handed him his lunch
the smile on his face
spelled love
in the mid noon sun

wailing
unresolved
irreconcilable
mushrooming fault-lines
raining all over
turning walls
into wailing ones

such
kisay dhoond rahay ho?
such ko
woh busy hay
busy?
haaN - bridge tournament
oh
such khuda ka partner hay
oh achcha

truth
searching for something?
yes, Truth
Truth is busy
busy?
yes, playing bridge
oh!
Truth is God's partner
oh, ok

persiflage
so much can be revealed
how much, she asked
way too much but not all
you are mischievous
believe that at your peril

tou maiN kya karooN
suraj ki roshni
barish ki cheetaiN
kisi ki muskurahat
kisi ki bakwas
sub per barabar girti haiN

musing
sunlight
raindrops
captivating smile
idle chatter
are so democratic

irony

it is shutters down late

kiya karaiN?

we can only

make love, surf

or sleep