Sanjeev Sethi


Palmate as Petition

The dailiness surprises me with its dryness. 
This isn’t sciamachy. When will the monsoon 
of thunderbolts shower us with its revelations?

Let environmental destruction and its whop 
permeate our consciousness as violations of 
earlier turns sojourn with the statute. 

This bubble must burst before we are in a bind.
Verstehen is out: if we wish to guarantee our 
grandchildren hold a better home than we had.



Limpidness

1

On the endpaper of 
our unrecorded biography
there was no mention of 
its cessation. 
Ends are abrupt and uncivil, 
which wasn’t our case. 

We protracted it till 
it didn’t matter 
if it concluded 
or continued.

2

As stillness lays down 
its protocol
I kowtow to its kinks. 
It inveigles me 
to its rhythm; I 
begin to see merit in paradox.

These are possible 
and priceless:
certain turfs 
aren’t for us.



Roughhouse

(1)

Validation from personages
is a sticky program. 
Coalesce with catenation
of the marketplace 
is usually nonpartisan.

Thumbs-up from the slush pile is a nod 
to the beauty of busking.
It is my cavalcade.
A noob one day will be nobody’s fool
This is consecution and its creed.

(2)

Your John Hancock on a sleeve
lies on the ledge. 
The record is missing. 
The gramophone 
is on the fritz.

The signature 
like a flake of sunshine 
reminds me of ridges 
we crossed to refine 
our epigram.



Distortion

The curb where we let off 
was curdled: 
there was integrity 
even in artifice. 
Meeting anew 
is to audit fresh clefts 
in the marl of our morrow. 

The herniation of ugly expression 
from your heat and heart 
sets a switch for me.  
Assertion of political 
and pietistic affinities 
are the least offensive 
parts of the profile.

Sanjeev Sethi has authored seven books of poetry. His last two: Strokes of Solace (CLASSIX, an imprint of Hawakal, Delhi, July 2022) and Wrappings in Bespoke (The Hedgehog Poetry Press, UK, August 2022). He is published in over thirty countries. His poems have found a home in more than 390 journals, anthologies, and online literary venues. He is the recipient of the Ethos Literary Award 2022. He is the joint-winner of Full Fat Collection Competition-Deux, organized by The Hedgehog Poetry Press, UK. He lives in Mumbai, India.

 
 

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