As You Walk Through The City

your senses are overwhelmed by the hundreds
who walk by you
with you
rush-hour noises
the cool evening breeze
rushing past
pushing away the humid day

the dogs
lying under the shade of choking
trees look at you
sometimes
you throw pieces of bread
towards them
as you sip warm elixir
from the earthen tea cup

the relentless rain
sends tiny rivulets of life
running down your brow
the smell of the wet earth

gaze at the gaudy lights
and colours
of fairs that emerge
like flowers in spring
trip over cracks in the pavement
feel the stubbornness of the city
as it throbs under your feet

the flowers in the stalls outside
temples leave you transfixed
the voice of the muezzin
calls to the devout
wakes you at the crack of dawn
the smoke makes you cough blood
sometimes

the colour red remembers you
as you cross the road
where you once saw a
motorcyclist
lying in a pool of blood

the sky chained to the city
tells you to call old friends
play cricket
this is it
this is yours
take it