HUSHED SPEECH

Was worried about the assault 
from inside, 
holding the shoes of his sons, 
he was trailing the sectarian kill. 
Utopia had its own weapons. 

I was trying to understand schizophrenia 
knifing for peace. Do you think mental 
fragmentation would find me on 
the door bell of sleep? I was walking 
through the hard kisses of death – 

on mouth so that I would not speak 
about the valley of tears.

Satish Verma