by M. Mohankumar
At night, on the pavement
a bulging gunny bag..
Murder, cried the passers-by.
Someone dialled 100.
The police came, pushed
the crowd back, cordoned off
the area. A constable
poking the bag with his lathi
heard a sound. It grunts,
he said. Not yet dead.
When they turned it over,
out came the ‘body’; up
it stood, bewildered, and
said: I’m a poor rag-picker, Sir.
I was sleeping in my bag
to avoid mosquito-bite.
Mohankumar has published seven volumes of poetry in English. His poems have appeared in almost all reputed literary magazines in print in India. His first collection of short stories in English, ‘The Turning Point and Other Stories’ has been published by Authorspress, Delhi . Mohankumar retired as Chief secretary to Government of Kerala.
