Inside the cave
It was cold
Outside the cave
People turned into bits of over burnt coal.
Inside the cave
The hunters hid
Outside the cave
People arched their eyebrows as if drawing out secret daggers.
Inside the cave
They didn’t know how to use spoons and forks
Outside the cave
People drew each others’ eye sockets out with spoons and forks.
Inside the cave
Death met them simply
Outside the cave
It came to them in textual disguises.
Inside the cave
The woman wept for her lover
Outside the cave
She sold his old photographs for Rs 1000 Rs each.
Inside the cave
People were hungry
Outside the cave
They had food but chose not to eat it.
Inside the cave
They couldn’t read or write
Outside the cave
Their writings set the mark for human behaviour.
Inside the cave
They groaned when in pain.
Outside the cave
You could never make out whether they were in pleasure or pain.
Rati is a bilingual poet and writes in both Hindi and English. Her 1st books of English poems ‘The Sunset Sonata’ has been published by Sahitya Akademi. Rati also runs a poetry group ‘Moonweavers – Chaand ke Julaahe’ in the city. She is currently working as a broadcast journalist for CNC World TV, an international news channel.