Hand to mouth

We live

on the precipice of cuticles held up to sky-ed goddesses

pupils scan the horizon

map every detail

That’s when you see all:

the contours

the depressions

the scalded after-flesh

the vast universe of the fingerprint

dotted, with hills and valleys

cities seething from see-through promises

regime of anopheles politicians

THAT, is the precursor to nail-biting departures

to the entry port of bloated lips

as stranded tour guides make you a mince meat

a mouth-watering specimen, to data collectors

at NISER. Rib cage enthusiasts, like philatelists

have seen you at the mouth of atrophied rivers

but you return to the thumbnail

too tongue-tied to pay lip service to theoretical dinners

many live in denial,

some live in doubt

we live from hand to mouth.