Those Who Knew Me

Those who knew me—no one lives in the neighborhood anymore Play danguli or whistle with lips, those who knew me no one lives anymore, not everyone’s life goes same Probably all know or no one knows at all Heard the name? Rustom, who could knock one down enough to forget dad’s name, was from our locality and broke his few teeth in a rowdy danguli game. A nightmare ruined sleep. Mum said not to go out anymore Those who knew me—no one lives in the neighborhood anymore Women gave charming, lopsided looks through the window, curly hair The air stopped blowing. Walk away my boy, I say The fire’s gone out; has he really forgotten the painful memories, too? Those who knew me—no one lives in the neighborhood anymore Move away of the road; jackals, one or two, might get crushed under feet