Debts

I owe so many. And they've become overweight. I can't carry them any longer. Whenever I returned home In the dead of midnight, The debt I owe mother, Who waited up without eating. When I lay in drunken stupor at the wayside, The obligation I owe the mongrel Who licked away sweat from my flyblown face. The due I owe the neighborhood For not beating me black and blue For the peeks I took as she bathed When Memchoubi was a virgin. And although I spent the night at Chandramikhi's The burden I owe my wife When she pretended that she didn't know Even as I lied. The debt I owe to my son For simply yielding to my deceit Because it wasn't enough for a bottle When he longed for a toy train. And when I returned After a long spell, The debt I owe The fields and hills I'd forgotten For telling me I've reached home. How will I pay my debts to all For loving me in excess? Mulling over this, I'm also searching For a deep rooted tree To crucify myself.