Diwali in a Lunatic Asylum

Diwali in a Lunatic Asylum

My pillow is wet with dreams
Dreams of a true sky with stars
Not the stripes of blue that I see
Between the rusted window bars

'Wake Up' reaches warden's shout
Cuts thru the delicious sleepy haze
Some wriggle up like human worms
Others stare blankly in a permanent daze

Days are filled with needle pricks
And volts that whip neurons to order
Or pills to numb our cerebrums
Swallowed after rotis with rubbery border

Today the floor is a rainbow of hues
Footprints dragging through Rangoli
Later the sky will light up with streaks
beyond a dusty banner of 'Happy Diwali'

An extra powdery sweet for lunch
No exercise, no work, no beatings today
Vegetate in the veranda drooling emptily
No shocks 'cause the staff has holiday

I wish all my days were as empty as this
To sit, stare and stroke ancient scars
Dreams leaking like tears on my pillow
Dreams of a free sky with stars.

~ Mahesh Laxman ~

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