20160113

Shloka Shankar


Memory's Noir


Things To Do On Borrowed Time

Have an unnatural affection
for deep conversations with clouds.

Collect obscure words positioned
around rabbit holes, just to rebel.

Mine for emotional shrapnel,
judge your metaphors,

and stare out for hours in an
attempt to understand your allusions.

Be the addict in search
of your nemesis.

Empty out your mythologized
head like junk drawers.

Listen for universal truths
in euphemisms that will never

measure up to what everyone else thinks.
Refuse to live without passion.


Eyes of the Sea i


Q & A
(with Dwarakanathan Ravi)

I.

When did you dye your hair purple?
Well, it's a part and parcel of a journey called life.
Why was I riding a unicorn last night?
He has all the courage of a kitchen mouse.
How many legs does a cockroach have?
You'll never guess who she said I was in one of my past lives.
Should we close the windows?
There, I paid for it.
What happened to your masculinity?
I know how these stories go.
Why is there a double rainbow on your phone?
My power is fading.
Can we discuss this in public, please?
Isn't it always like that? Live with the irony.
Who said divorces are made in heaven?
He’s afraid to live without false illusions.
What would happen if Mars collided with Earth?
I'm the same person in all spheres.
Did you see the look on her face?
It is your destiny now. Don't fight it.


Eyes of the Sea ii


II.

What time is it?
I'd rather you didn't take me anywhere.
Have you always been so pig-headed?
Maybe this was a mistake...
Can you listen to my inner voice?
I just blew my chance at fame and fortune.
Does she really have a mane?
Not since I've been married.
When's Santa's birthday?
Surrender. You haven't really done anything...yet.




Shloka Shankar is a freelance writer from India. She loves experimenting with Japanese short-forms like haiku, senryu, and haibun, as well as found/remixed poetry from time to time. Her work has recently appeared in The Gambler Mag, Failed Haiku, Sein und Werden, Window Cat Press, One Sentence Poems, and so on. One of her poems was nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology in 2015. Shloka is also the founding editor of the literary & arts journal, Sonic Boom. She can be found on Facebook.

("Things To Do On Borrowed Time" is a remixed poem composed from a post, 50 Reasons Not To Date A Poet, by Susan Easton. In the "Q & A," Shloka wrote down a question without showing it, and, simultaneously, Dwarakanathan Ravi wrote down an answer. The resulting poem was formed as a series of these questions and answers.)
 
 
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