Wrappings in Bespoke, by Sanjeev Sethi, stirs up a heady brew of thoughts and elegant language.
The very first piece, "Snatch of Schooldays" relates memories of riding the bus to school as a young child. Our protagonist "snakes his way ... contiguous to the leadfoot" to find entertaining classmates as he boards. Written in elevated grown-up language, this piece sets a tone for the collection. The bus is a repurposed military vehicle not originally made to transport children, yet the protagonist finds his way aboard.
In a similar way, other protagonists in this book find their way into and through spaces that seem not made for them, where they must figure out how to fit. The most notable of these is older age, a stage of life that challenges the poetic speakers on different levels. Several pieces, including "Junior" and "Practitioner" explore the self-perception of aging people and the tension between the joy of accumulated intellectual insight and concern over weakening physical bodies and waning energy.
Thought, reading, writing, and academic study also loom large in Wrappings in Bespoke. Pieces such as "Movement" and "Selfdom" reflect this, and other pieces ("Avoirdupois" and "Navigation") speak of people connecting to each other (or not) in personal relationships through the language of study and research. Some pieces bring an almost mystical tone to the celebration of the intellect, such as "Leave-Taking," which references horology while discussing the fine social art of the good-bye.
While rarefied in tone, Wrappings is not without humor. "In Twos" mentions corporate employees joking with each other about hearing their bosses "let it rip." Some of the older age pieces present the physicality of aging in direct and amusing ways.
While some pieces will require careful re-readings, Sanjeev Sethi's newest collection is not unreadable and will be enjoyable for many people.
BLIND MOTHER
I'm one of the children of that mother
With biggest and milky breasts in town
Who lives to feed the adjoining cherubs
But too blind to notice the malnutrition
Which's been drawn in crystal on her kids;
I've been down in the mouth all day long;
I told my mother and did she tell me;
Put in the ground thy ears o' son
And water them with stream of thy eyes!
SAINT
Beloved
On my journey
To thy world
I embark
Beloved
If I reach
There I'll dwell
Till sun dies
Beloved
I am saint;
I am sent
To clean your sin
NIGERIA
Behold,
Here, Nigeria is my home;
Where my parents, family and friends
Are born and raised by different hands
Do we have other place to call home?
Halt, o' brethren
Don't let others in our hearts
Plant the seed of hatred;
Lado, Ejike, Olu we're but family
Let's alone stand to face our face;
Hang on,
The land, where we sang while farming
Is now with our hands turned it abattoir;
Where we slaughter our own brothers
Who live to provide for us the foods
Listen,
Why o' brethren and when again
Shall we regain our senses?
Tell our brothers to put down their guns
So peace would be freed and go everywhere
WEARY WANDERER
Home my abandoned heart, O' Dija
Let love be its eternal servitude
In your sacred kingdom
Clasp me in your arms, O' Dija
For my limbs grew cold
Strap my aching body to your back
Hold onto my hands, O' Dija
I'm an eclipsed moon
In your starry sky I reshine
I'm a weary wanderer, O' Dija
Take me to your pool
Let's swim and have ourselves anew
Riya and Tamal were very good friends. They both liked each other. Thus at one time they got involved in a relationship. They went to college together. Both of them were very brilliant students, the most brilliant students in their college. The results they achieved in the exam no other student could ever reach. They used to travel after finishing college. They used to visit different places every day.
Sometimes they used to visit the children's park, sometimes meet on the bridge, sometimes get together at historical places. They thus became close to each other. They start getting to know each other. Riya was from a very wealthy family, but Tamal was not from that good a family. Tamal's family was only a middle class family. Over time they told each other a lot more about each other.
One day Tamal said to Riya, "Riya, you will never leave me." Riya replied, "I love you so much Tamal. If need be you and I will die together." But it was only in their imagination, it was never going to come true.
Their closeness could not be tolerated by their friend Kabir. He also liked Riya, but Riya did not like him. Riya was proposed to by Kabir one day, but Riya did not accept.
Kabir followed them for days. Wherever they went, whatever they did, Kabir was taking pictures of them on his mobile phone. He also tried to find out what Riya and Tamal were talking about on their messenger apps. He decided to hack Tamal's Messenger ID.
On the other hand, Tamal and Riya were unaware of this. They went around as usual and Kabir followed them everyday. Kabir came to a decision one day that he would send their daily pictures to Tamal's messenger. Kabir sent the pictures to Tamal's messenger. When Tamal was looking at the pictures, Riya was with him. Riya said, "Tamal you take our pictures every day. You're doing this, right?"
Tamal then said, "No, why should I take pictures? Kabir just sent me the pictures." Riya sees that indeed Kabir has sent all these pictures. Next day, after going to class, Riya said to Kabir, "Why are you taking our daily pictures, Kabir? I said I don't like you. Why are you not leaving me alone?"
Then Kabir said to Riya, "Don't you know this Riya? Tamal asked me to take your picture. He used to pay me every day for that." Riya sat with her hands on her head. She didn't understand anything.
Kabir said, "Why do you like Tamal? He's using you. He doesn't like you from his heart. He made your pictures go viral, because he will ruin your honor, he took the picture with me." Hearing this, Riya got angry and left there and did not go around with Tamal that day.
Meanwhile, Tamal knew nothing about this. The next day, Tamal came to the college and said to Riya, "Hey Riya, why didn't you come with me today? You come with me every day. And even yesterday you didn't go for a walk with me. What happened to you?"
Then Riya said to him, "You are not ashamed to tell me these things. You are a great big bastard. You played around with me!"
"What are you talking about Riya?" said Tamal.
Riya said, "I'm right. You don't like me, right? You should have said it earlier. I wouldn't go around with you anymore. You played love with me. In the name of love, you wrapped me in your magic. What do you want?" Money want money!"
Tamal was shocked to hear Riya's words. He said to Riya, "Why are you talking so much, Riya?"
Riya said, "I'm right, you paid Kabir to take these pictures, right?"
Meanwhile, Kabir was trying to hack Tamal's ID. Kabir hacked Tamal's ID with the help of a hacker. Meanwhile, Tamal and Riya continued to talk. His friends started saying to them, "What are you seeing here, Riya, what are you doing, Tamal?" Then Tamal realized that these were Kabir's actions.
But Riya was shocked to see the screenshot of the chat on Messenger! She gave Tamal a firm slap on the cheek. To Tamal she said, "Finally Kabir is right. You have finally ruined my honor."
Tamal was shocked and said, "No, Riya I didn't do this."
But Riya didn't believe Tamal. Tamal went home from there. Meanwhile, Riya broke down. She was being scolded by her relatives, her friends were shaming her, she couldn't bear it all.
A few days later, Kabir proposed to Riya. Riya was surprised and said, "I already told you that I don't like you. And you and your friend did such a bad thing to me. How do you think I will like you?"
Then Kabir said to Riya, "You have to make a choice. When I can hack Tamal's ID for you, ignite your heart against Tamal, then I can make you fall in love."
Riya said, "What, you hacked Tamal's ID and made my pictures went viral?"
Riya returned home crying without standing there for a minute because he did not apologize. Then she called Tamal and said she would talk to him.
Riya apologized to Tamal in the afternoon. She said, "Tamal, it was my mistake. I misunderstood you. I thought you shamed me, I'm sorry Tamal."
Tamal remained silent. After some time he said, "I can forgive you on one condition. I must love you as before, then."
Riya said with a smile, "Of course, Tamal. I will love you as before." Then they both joined hands and stopped as before.
Meanwhile, Kabir could not accept this at all. When Tamal and Riya were returning home, Kabir with his friends stood in their way and said, "You love Riya a lot don't you. When Riya is not mine, she can't be anyone's!" and shot Riya.
Riya fell on the ground. Tamal was then shocked. Tamal picked up Riya and said he will take her to the hospital. But Kabir and his friends did not let him go. They surrounded the road. They were smiling shamelessly.
By then Riya had accepted death, before saying just one word, "I love you Tamal. Be well."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
remember to laugh
laugh
sometimes all
you can do is
laugh
plans change
something
comes up
lines of
communication
get neglected
along the way
today is one
of those days
where i need
to remember
to laugh
especially when
the nurses tell my
mother she's an
hour early for
her procedure
somewhere
between the
paperwork
and a phone
call
the time change
was lost
laugh, remember
to laugh
there will always
be plenty of time
for revenge later
----------------------------------------------------------
in any traditional sense of the word
never fall in love
with a woman that
wants to stick a dildo
in your ass
she is incapable of
loving you in any
traditional sense
of the word
never fall in love
with a woman who
thinks she is a
dominatrix but is
unwilling to let
the world in on
the secret
never fall in love
with a woman who
puts money over
everything
friendship,
quiet moments
alone, even god
never fall in love
with a woman who
still seeks the privilege
of being an only child
well into her thirties
never fall in love
with a woman more
than two states away
from you
the distance will be
too much for some to
be able to handle in a
moment of crisis
------------------------------------------------------
still like the taste
i think my
imagination
is still in its
early twenties
everyone is
still naked
and ready
the drugs
still have a
good kick
and i still
like the
taste
sadly, the
body and
mind haven't
kept up the
pace
---------------------------------------------------------
violent in my dreams
i often wonder about
my death
it has always been
violent in my dreams
something tragic or
brutal in the daylight
i'd love to die in
my sleep
simply fade to black
my luck, it will be
upon insertion in
some unlucky
woman
the poetic way would
be mid-sentence, right
as the devil starts to...
--------------------------------------------------------------
a really short drive to crazy
i have always known it is
a really short drive to crazy
like maybe down the block
or around a fucking corner
it has been that way since
i was a child
they always told me i was
gifted
i read too much and knew
that was a kind way of saying
someone could be really
fucking crazy
i preferred savant but that was
my ego always speaking up
at the wrong fucking time
i was the type that never had
homework and could be seen
smoking cigarettes with the
homeless on the weekends
while writing poems with
a bottle of cheap wine about
even cheaper women
i look around this room
and see the cigarettes are
gone because of a lack
of funds
the wine is now a glass
of scotch
and the women are still
cheap
imaginary has some benefits
--------------------------------------------------
Once upon a time, a cat lived under a tree. The tree was the river side. It was a big mango tree. It was totally black. Many years ago it was grown here. It had given a lot of delicious juicy fruits to the people. People tested and enjoyed its juicy fruit.
One day the cat came to live here. When the cat came and saw a lot of ripe and colorful fruits was in the tree. It wandered to see beautiful fruit. At first sight cat fell in love of those fruits. Suddenly a dog passed the place. Dog couldn’t see the cat but cat saw. Cat closed his eyes and waited fairly long time for the happening. The dog passed away, the cat thought.
Cat opened his eyes slowly, spoke loudly and sprang quickly on the mango tree, because the dog stood in front it. The dog said, “Why do you spring on the tree? I’m your friend, don’t you know me?”
Cat replied that you were not my friend, the relation between you and me was hunted and hunter only. Clever dog said to the cat that he was not an enemy. He also said, "When you were on the tree and the tree was full of ripe juicy fruits, you could give me some. We enjoyed them together. Sorry my cruel friend, I couldn’t do it for you, because I tried them, they were now sour."
The dog looked tense and annoyed.
"It didn’t matter, I liked sour, my mother gave me sour fruit in my childhood, you were with me, I enjoyed it very much. "
Cat spoke wisely. "You are no friend, I never did anything wrong to you. I had a bitter experience, it was many years ago. I and my family lived in a village. I had two sisters and a brother, my sisters were older. One day a wounded dog came to our house. It said, "Help me and save me!" Mom didn’t want to help, but my soft hearted sisters wanted to help it.
They said that dogs were our enemy, but this one was wounded. So it was our moral duty to nurse it. Mom couldn’t say anything except O.K. My sisters nursed and treated it. We got the dog out of danger and it came around soon. We were all happy and the dog stayed there continuously. It became our friend day by day.
But one day my parents and brother went outside. Suddenly I heard a dangerous deadly sound, saw a heart rending sight. The dog killed my beautiful sisters. Would have killed me, but it couldn't find me. Now I had lost my family and also my house. It’s happened because of your species. So I don't believe you! I hate you!"
The dog was ashamed and went away.
C H A O S
Tell me please...
If those miscreants buzzing around
The ears. Has peace come to an end?
Are they the only dishes to serve people
their freshly breakfast?
When will they sing a song of no-more and
Wave a hand of no return to this infidelity?
Tell those gila-monsters, those wicked lions
That bore horrible teeth in their tragic that
Their lives will perish away like an atom
In the whirlwind of desert when breeze in the
Atmosphere hits the jackpot of peace.
Tell me...
Who would we bear on shoulders again?
Is it the giant whales flapping in pools of
Our wealth or the broken pieces of peace
Bloodly lying in every nook & cranny of the street?
I say this is not the faults of violence:
But a burning fire fueled by those
With great power in their hands and
Soaked people's minds in bowls of
Deceptions and cups of woeful wonders.
With love and peace, no way for violence.
What does the word love
Really mean?
Is it only a wishful
Dream?
Is love two people sharing
Their lives
Together, forever as Husband
And wife?
Is love a promise we
Make,
A promise we should
Never break?
A promise to only be
With each other,
A promise their will
Be no other?
Is love a feeling
Or thought?
Or is it just something
We all want?
Is love a choice
We make?
Or is it a chance
We take?
Is love good or is
Love bad?
Does love make you
Happy or sad?
Is love a simple touch that
Gives you chills?
Or a beating heart that
Won't be still?
Could love be a gently kiss so
Passionately on the lips?
Does love hurts, does
Love cry?
Is it love when you
Tears won't dry?
Can we love once? Can we
Love twice?
Or does true love happen
Only once in life?
Is love real?
Can love forgive?
Can love heal?
I know love is real.
Because of pain,
I know now true love feels.
When nothing hurts worse
Than it,
You, too, will know love exists.....
