FALTERING TONGUE

He did not want anything 
after the sex and death of a protagonist. 
Rebuffed and sliced through the body, 
the onus was left on toxic mix. 

He died in deprivation, in intensity 
of hunger and fluidity of thirst. 
The quartet of grenades stretched too far 
the indemnity of shell shocked apostles. 

A clan lost the sense of hearing. 
A mystic odyssey of massacre, raising 
the doubt of gifts in heaven. The starchy 
statements and commands scattering.

Satish Verma