the adjoining life
that one next to mine
                    where once
we walked on the streets
                           of laughter
there was, at the end of that street
a sign post
it said :  ‘laughter ends here’

and a bend in the street led to this
life of happenstance

i have been making less sense
with each passing day
not corona
no not COVID-19
(yet)
but I’m beginning to forget
the way to the bend in the street;
the way to happiness.

i stumble upon a smile
sometimes
and sometimes not.

calendars and diaries are redundant
they lie in the corner of every bookstore

and the ones at home
are being  used
to record expenditures
of daily sorts

september already?

no expectations
except to survive
or die without pain.

the tv channels have stopped reporting COVID-19 cases
occasionally
one hears of murders , robberies, gang rapes
we quietly look away
change the channel
and eat our dinners
in moist rooms
filled with monsoon sorrows.

i occasionally go for a walk after dinner
look for that bend in the street
and then give up and return home

september 2020
the pandemic year 

…

Dee is from Lahore, Pakistan. Loves dark nights and old trees.