Such A Long Time

SUCH A LONG TIME

Such a long time that

The grandma’s steel almirah

Passed on to mama

Starts appearing in

TV ads,

Such a long time that

In the kitchen

Every brand from

Spice to cooking oil

Changes several times over

Such a long time that

The gloom on son’s face becomes

Unbearable, and pronto

Arrives the latest model car 

Such a long time and

Such a time that

The artist and the poet

Has nothing to narrate but

Juicy memoirs about women,

The nature enters the poem

Like a billboard,

Pain no more than a photo shot and

Lust becomes the ultimate truth

Such a long time and

Such a time that the

Late night news ends with

The warning of a storm,

And every new dawn

Breaks with a storm,

Without warning

Such a time that

There are only

Abandoned houses

In the neighbourhood,

And on the streets

Are only uprooted trees,

The roads look the same

But the road blocks as

Never seen before

Such a time that the

Destination is still

The same distance,

But it takes longer

To reach there

Such a long time that

House is the same but the

Address has changed, or

The address remains the same

But those who live there

Have changed, and

With them the

Phone numbers too

Such a long time and

Such a time that

It is hard to find a house,

Still harder to

Inquire the address and

Simply impossible to

Trace those who

Have lost their homes

Such a long time that

The meaning of relationships

Is lost, address becomes

Just a formality, 

And the speech is

Drained out of truthfulness,

Yet, everything goes on

As usual, without remorse,

Without a second’s thought

Such a time that

There appears no urgency

For anything,

Every query may be answered

At leisure, with options

Unlimited and

Probabilities endless,

There is craving

Only for profits in life,

And TV channels

Has become Santa Claus

 Fulfilling every wish

Written and translated from Hindi by Lalit Surjan