Listening

Listening to conversation

that involves

multimillionaires

and

contrasting

the poverty;

One dollar a day

and

One billion

In the same breath;

 

Suspended in the same air.

the same space

and time

 

Suffocating.

 

Like the haze of ozone

and carbon

monoxide

that

lols in the ether.

 

Ethereal neglect,

like

Gandhi’s house.

 

Less

put your money where your mouth is

and more

display

for all to see

what happens

when a thousand million contribute

one

Rupee

at a time

towards one man’s wealth.

 

Like

Amazon

or

Alibaba

sucking-up

the atmosphere;

Mopping-up.

 

You’ve got to be numb

or at least

Disconnected

when rats run by open-air

cesspits

and the Marriott

and Hilton

Shine their lights.

 

We all share the same sewers,

the same

rodents

pop their heads up out of our toilets

when we are sleeping,

air

conditioning

or

not.