oasis

At the tea stall around
the corner, you'll see not
more than four people if
you wish a tea in the
afternoon. The blazing
heat and the dusty air are mighty enough
to shape a different culture
here, away from home. You'll see
labourers and servants,
clerks and watchmen, huddling
under the canopy of the tree,
the stall's shelter from
the skies above.
You'll see me sitting
with them too, uneasy
and stared at, holding on for dear life
to my tea and cigarettes till
the ringing of my phone
forces my exit from this motley crew,
from that quiet corner in this cacophonous city.