Blog by Sumana Harihareswara, Changeset founder
Poetry Slum
Hi, reader. I wrote this in 2003 and it's now more than five years old. So it may be very out of date; the world, and I, have changed a lot since I wrote it! I'm keeping this up for historical archive purposes, but the me of today may 100% disagree with what I said then. I rarely edit posts after publishing them, but if I do, I usually leave a note in italics to mark the edit and the reason. If this post is particularly offensive or breaches someone's privacy, please contact me.
Another trick to not getting booed by hostile audiences: rap or recite poetry at them so quickly that they hear no pause to fill up with booing. In that spirit, well, in a completely different spirit, I present the poem I wrote my ex-flatmate to get him to return my stuff. ("I'll bring it back given the appropriate ransom (let's say, a limerick about shampoo).")
I told you that our word "pajamas"(Balarama is a character in Indian mythology. Krishna's brother, I think.)
Originates in Balarama's
land. So does "shampoo,"
and "karma" does too
So gimme it back, or your mama's!
And then there's the lovely note I saw hanging from my doorknob a week back, "Ode to a Phase-Shifted Roommate":
Every night except a few I sleep at home and so do you. We both wake up and check our mail, And look for food to no avail. We both have weekends off from work, And both enjoy this little perk. We often walk the same small street -- Some day, we might even meet.
