Hot as Hell

The clock ticks off and off for hours

Before my eyes I see a hundred stars!

Eyes ooze off water and want to close,

I want to go home and doze.

Be dipped in my dreams, both sweet and sour

This little boring world I’d debar.

But that’s not possible, so very hard

But waiting like this will make me a retard.

Burning hot is the sun, with no cool breeze

Not a leaf is moving on trees.

The fan is spinning like a merry-go-round

But has no effect on the wall and the ground!

A drop of water seems like heaven,

But we are drowning in hell’s rings, all seven

Sweat is pouring down like a waterfall,

All this summer vibe’s creating a brawl.

Mangoes and the cooler are the only solace,

Like god’s little short-lived bless.

Someone save me from this summer, and take me to monsoon

I swear I’d dance like a happy baboon!

-Chinmayee Kulkarni

Death's little game

I wake up and see, it's a usual day
But something intriguing seems to be at bay...
Upon the blue skies rises thunder
All the merry it was about to plunder.

Said a thick voice with utmost joy,
"All life I'm going to destroy"
"Run and come out of your hives,
for 'tis the last day of your lives!"

Frightened we were at that moment,
The world everywhere seemed frozen
Ate all we could and packed our things,
But realized there's nowhere to cling!

"This is all bogus!" we had a feeling in the heart,
But death wasn't someone you'd outsmart.
Dams broke, rivers flooded, houses collapsed
More people disappeared as time elapsed.

Trains broke down, so did buses and the cars,
Began coming down from the sky all stars.
"Save us, oh dear lord" we prayed all along,
But havoc didn't stop its song.

We were sorry for the mistakes we'd all done
Starving for the slow wind and the sun.
Came upon us the nightfall, but fires didn't light
And continued its way, the bloody blight!

Wanted it to go back to sleep,
This storm that caused death in heaps.
Wish they could lower down, these painful screams,
And this could be a nightmare, just a bad dream...

Thankfully it turned out I was right,
I just had had a rough night.
But was is just a dream or a warning sign?
Are we really running out of precious time?

-Chinmayee Kulkarni