Absolution
Photo: Karan Madhok
Poetry by Kavita Parwani Talib: ‘Is this a sign that I’m not completely biodegradable? / Because I leave a hesitant carbon footprint / In my distributed plasticity?
I pack the left-over food in a matter-of-fact
Methodism, empty containers of ice-cream quickly transform
Into vessels of absolution. Guilt and benevolence filled in equal measure
How many flavours of frozen reprieve
Will it take to redeem our subconscious coffers?
Assorted family packs
Balance contradictions in a Jenga huddle.
Jaywalking greys, immiscible in the alternating black and whites
At juxtaposed Signs
Is this a sign that I’m not completely biodegradable?
Because I leave a hesitant carbon footprint
In my distributed plasticity?
And later when this polyethylene is partially found
Will it still contain my guilt
In traces?
That will trace back to a family of plenty.
Crossroads of signals, flyovers-underpasses
All the fringes in-between
Hovering with an excess of have-nots
As I struggle to discard my irony
of surpluses. The mind belches,
As it quells my acid-reflux.
I try to swallow the disquiet of my entire tribe.
A generation trapped in a saliva
Of denial, trapped in a dental chair.
Befuddled in a skirmish and a trade-off.
And a ploy that thickens my skin
Disguises my inflamed mucosa
It becomes simpler to feel nothing
As I work my way out of the daily commute,
Eased out of my conscience.
Wondering what to order next.
The mugginess of the Mumbai air washes my soul
Confounded, I hanker between Vanilla, Mango or Coffee walnut
My future frozen,
Until a swiggy delivery manifests
Awaiting
Recyclable
Absolution.
Dispersing into a queue, catch-22
***
Kavita Parwani Talib is an architect by profession and writer by intent. She is based in Mumbai, India and has been previously associated as a writer for architecture journals. Her book reviews have been published in The Tint Journal, The Quiver Review and The Infinite Sky. Her poetry has been featured in EKL Review - Issue 6; ‘Tears of Swords'— an anthology by Poets Tribe & Poets Globe. You can find her on Instagram @poetik_ally.
