As paper trumpets blare and toot,
as sirens wail and foghorns hoot,
and as churchbells toll all around me
– I wish a happy new year to you all
Breathing fire, coughing smoke,
spitting ash,
as firecrackers burst inside my pants
– I wish a happy new year to you all
As all my buttons pop,
my chest opens and lungs collapse,
as a feather of flame starts eating my hat
– I wish a happy new year to you all
As the Rajabai Tower cranes its neck
to see me reduced to a smudge on the road
and bursts into a joyous song
– I wish a happy new year t
[short excerpt from ‘Man of the Year’ by Arun Kolatkar, from his remarkable Collected Poems in English (Bloodaxe, November 2010).]
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