Faithless How easy it is to belong only to oneself, even when naked in front of another This stranger's roving hands and searching tongue find something. Is it me? Motions and moans Bathed in yellow light Novelty and flattery to warm the bedside Could I get by like this? Faithless old love, be gone from my heart I'm tucking that self away out of sight with a faltering but fresh start tonight *** A small-scale reflection of a great many things A woman's bag is a précis. Its contents metonymic. Condoms, lube, pepper spray, Kindle, cigarettes, Swiss army knife dot my black bag tonight. Modern woman. Ancient fears. Modern love games. Ancient heart. Stepping out into the night *** Mythical modernity, or A balancing act over death * You make a habit of pleasantries. Misdirection. No longer sixteen and goaded easily, by suppressed laughter of cousins, slyly sarcastic uncles, or overbearing aunties at weddings who in your freewheeling life look for familiar milestones and come up empty. Though sometimes a throwaway remark hits the tuning fork of consciousness at such a place as to reverberate through the whole being; shaking the humble faith in possibilities built painstakingly, stealing bricks from the manor of conformity. A prediction of coming to a sticky end made with the casual assurance of centuries sometimes finds a spot between the armour and the rib, slicing through the fledgling defiance of nerve. Courage crumbling. Mythical modernity. Linear time has run circles around women. Even now one distracted move could mean a whole desired life collapsing Flagging energy insufficient to keep it in orbit Ever looming twin spectres: society and family exert force; calling it now tradition, now love*Note: ‘A balancing act over death’ in the title is a reference to the following quote from Practicalities by Marguerite Duras. “That’s how it used to be in the past. In the past, wherever I turn, to whatever point in the history of the world, I see women in an extreme and intolerable situation. Doing a balancing act over death. Now, whichever way I turn in my own time I see the starlets of the media, tourism and banking, each one the bright girl of the class, spruce and indefatigable, equally knowledgeable about everything. And doing a balancing act over death.”
Illustration: Priya Sebastian