Autumn bloom

The falling autumn sun 
on my back ripcords 
the colours into a bloom 
as you enter 
my garden 
woody with the notes of my perfume 
bottled in the roots, resins, russets:
r a m p a g e d,
which trips you afresh 
with wilderness 
of a love sown jade 
as I cough a pinwheel of petals 
in a pink cascade 
to remind you 
that the day’s done.

***

Carrot Politics 

With its blind faith to the sun 
the carrot plunges deep, so deep 
it has nowhere to go. 

The heights thus forsaken 
bulges it into a saffron weed 
pulled and dangled
at best
serving a piece meal 
modi fied. 

***

Lozenged Love  

On that rain swept day 
turning from the ATM 
Strepsils in my tongue rolling 
I manifested that boy from our school science fair 
who had braved our convent-bred meanness  
with his rhyming ink 
gurgling in my throat
which I gulped whole 
with the lemon lozenge. 

I grinned with the hard deposit 
choking my chest taut,
which his libertine mistook 
for my coy fortitude,
Asked if I’d like to grab some coffee, 
the weather playing perfect ploy?  
My veto slipped by that sweet soothing pill  
weighing my guts down further by an inch. 

We were asked to move from blocking the way, 
as he began tallying his balance sheet of success
indexed by a Merc keyring 	
spinning on his finger, 
with excitement compounding 
and his eyes that blinked—
Ka-ching! Ka-ching! 

How could I stomach this fast-acting pill, I thought 
shining translucent, 
reduced thrice small?
But now the hesitation in my throat was cleared
as I fumbled to find back my loyalty in words.
So at last when he insisted I must have something to say,  
I popped that one question 
burning within me 
since juvenile years:    
“Do gulped down lozenges grow trees from the ears?”

***