First published in The Maynard
Talk in whispers
But make them so low-pitched
That no one can hear
Them. Not even the person
You whisper to.
Clever one-liners are
Good. Check your
Ambition in using them, though.
Satire works well, too. It’s
Always safer to quote a dead or
Well-known writer.
Post music, lots of it,
Songs of protest and of
Love. Also post jokes and
Photos of food, cats, your
Toddler. Who doesn’t
Deserve a break from Aleppo’s
Bombed Children and India’s
Suicide-committing farmers?
Hide. Behind symbols
With multiple metaphors. Open-ended
Totems of ambiguity.
Amid the word-pelleting
From different camps, watch
Out for “Nation building,”
“Anti-national,” “Greater good,”
And “Patriotic.” Loaded missiles
Before which your feeble,
Weightless humanity must
Shiver in defeat.
Bhaswati Ghosh 