Les (Murray) between drinks
The dynamic Kathryn Hummel has a project going, called “Friends with Drinks”. If you have anything artistic to contribute on the theme of drinking with friends anywhere in the world: words, images, whatever, have a look at her tumblr page and submit, submit, submit. Kathryn kindly published my “Art of Boozing” yesterday:
The Art of Boozing (after Elizabeth Bishop)
There is also a Facebook page and a SA Writers’ Centre blog page
Submission are via the tumblr page.
I’ve committed to writing a poem a day for the month of April as part of National Poetry Writing Month.
The washing
of a million people
hanging out to dry
under a polluted sky
a city touting
tours, ferry rides
garlands, pashminas
snapshots of you in front of a temple
a woman in a sari
motorbike side saddle
clasping her shopping
tighter than her husband
cricket on every ‘madan’
watched intently
by young men
under hessian shelters
a city unboundaried
unrestrained
undreamt
a city of perpetual motion
copyright Mike Hopkins 2012
I’ve committed to writing a poem a day for the month of April as part of National Poetry Writing Month. This is day 19.
a humpbacked cow
surrounded by manic traffic
munching contentedly
as if in a meadow
students sipping cappuccinos
in air conditioned coffee shops
discussing assignments
over wi-fi connected laptops
Women swimming
and laughing
in full saris
on Chowpatty Beach
Train carriage
safe haven
‘Ladies Only
For All the 24 hours’
a red light at every intersection
drivers respond with
“hear my horn
I’m coming through”
copyright Mike Hopkins 2012
I’ve committed to writing a poem a day for the month of April as part of National Poetry Writing Month. This is day 18.
Today I’ve dipped into a journal I kept when I visited India two years ago. There’s lots of material in it. Mumbai made a big impression, so I’ll spread them over 2 or 3 days.
a city of ten million car horns
at least 50% of them blaring
at any one time
a city of child beggars carrying small babies
deformed beggars displaying their stumps and mangled limbs
blind beggars, palms upheld in supplication
a city of crumbling buildings
damp and dark skinned
enfolding countless struggles to survive
a city of stylish Mumbai shops
designer boutiques
affluence unabashed by poverty
a city of two storey shacks
of iron, wood and cardboard
steps up to padlocked bedrooms
a city of black and yellow cabs
swarming like ladybirds along
every inch of every street
copyright Mike Hopkins 2012
Mumbai traffic
I was in India for a few weeks in 2010. I kept a sort of journal most of the time, but have not done much with the material. So I’ve dug out this entry about the madness of city traffic in India. Plus a few pics I took whilst crossing the street in Mumbai, and foolishly trying to get somewhere in a Mumbai taxi cab.
The safest way to cross the street in India
is to shelter downstream of a cow
the onrushing traffic will miraculously part
flowing either side of the sacred animal
and reforming into a single mad rush a few yards further on
leaving you and the beast intact
the only problem with this strategy
is that the cow may remain in the middle of the street for some hours
If you are in more of a hurry to reach the other side
the next best strategy is to find a grey haired old woman
who is going the same way as you
Indian drivers respect the elderly nearly as much as cows
so you will probably make it to the other side
by keeping the old woman between you and the traffic
If you become impatient, and decide to forsake the old woman
in a mad dash to the kerb
whatever you do, don’t look back
Mumbai taxi cabs
