Thursday 30 August 2012

Tantrums

I woke up before my alarm today
And let Mother pour oily love into my hair & tie two silly plaits
My uniform hasn't looked neater, my shoelaces knottier
My homework is done, I licked my mug of stinky Complan clean
At school also, everything went great!
In the free lecture, I revised for the class test next week & munched on potato shells
That's just how I celebrate. Disciplined. Placid. Constrained.

"Chal na, bunk karkey throwball khelte hain!"
They winked. I refused. It was too risky.

But by the time I got home, my hair was a frizzy mess
The coffee had gone stone cold & files had plagued my desk
My online payments are overdue. My credit card is frozen
I'm out of breath, perpetually out of time. And the alarm clock is broken
Too tired to sneak out an extra Toblerone from the fridge when Mother isn't looking
Counting the hours of sleep I'll get, incessantly groaning.
Cussing the sunshine. Sometimes, even the rain. And rickshaw waalas.
When will I ever play a sport again?

And what about that trek? And that long drive to nowhere?
And walking in the rain, instead of tip-toeing over the muck?
And sipping on masala chai for the taste, not just to stay up?

Adults ought to learn to throw tantrums
And stop being so overworked in the head
Starting today, I will breathe slowly, smile generously
I will NOT go to work today
In fact, I won't even get out of bed.. :)

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