I am hungry and all I see around me are temptations. Monsters in multiples stalk and ambush my vulnerabilities. Loaded with stun guns they fry my tired but yet resisting synapses – nerve cells that frantically message me of impending attacks and targeted when even their safe houses are demolished. But I have built my force of unseen warriors and have bounced back after each of their guerrilla attacks. Losing extra kilos is a battle that has gone on for years now and it is only today that I have devised a new strategy.
So here I am sitting with a plate of leafy salad that I know is going to give me all the nutrients and micro-nutrients that I need in a single meal. I place the plate on the bed, take out a page from my notebook as the monsters under my bed howl and prepare for another assault. I write: Crack, beat, whip, slice. Steam, grind, slash, and dice. Fry, mince, chop, boil. Drain, grate, peel, and broil. Heat, pierce, pound, prick. Roast, strip, shred, and pick. Knead, toast, pinch, dash. Sliver, skewer, stew, and mash.
With great confidence I bend and slip this piece of paper under the bed. I know the monsters are there with their armoury of cutting knives, rolling pins, pestles, forks, and cutlery knives and are busy lining up their forces for yet another invasion. I don’t want this to happen and quickly write a haiku as my final piece of a deadly weapon. Only the right syllables can stop this violence, forever.
Let words fill your greed
The way you want. Leave me now
With my leafy brood.
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Based on the prompt: Monsters under the bed (Gauri Dixit)
#TSLNaPoWriMo poetry writing challenge for April 2021
The form for this poem is called a Haibun where prose seamlessly merges with a haiku positioned anywhere.
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Arvind Passey
April 2021
