A WINDOW IN MY ATTIC

BERRYESSA Wild red berries Border tentacles of Berryessa, Caressing the
Highlands With gentle murmurs, Rolling hills with primary green,
Picture postcard in the rain. Monticello Dam is blocked off, Falling
rock, In the open at your peril. The rock face makes sobbing sounds,
Othello in despair, The rock has tears Streaming down its brown-black
cheek. Tears gather In the beards of wizened trees, Rolling sheep on
spindly legs, Horses have gone to sleep. The bovine munch away Udders
bursting with cream, I park the car near Turtle Rock And chew the cud
for them. Creek to stream to river to lake, Lapping at Spanish Flat
village and store, Unfriendly geese waddle For earthworms and snails,
Take to water as I approach And are graceful again. Blackbirds tease in
swarms, The clouds come down and ruffle my hair, A solitary speedboat
jets by As the geese turn around and gaze, And swim away, nonchalant.
Two fishermen stand their watch, Silence devours the grayish light,
Black clouds are in muted pain. Two islands in diagonal tandem, Inner
Island haphazard Like the hair beneath my parka, Big Island with the
Apache crew-cut; And then the Highlands fall away Into creeks and
canyons. Clouds are rent asunder By the sun in the west, The water
slowly weeps its way, Gathers speed as it descends, Like the evening of
a human life Spent partly in the studied rain. Ashok Niyogi, 39330
Marbella Terraza, Fremont CA94538 Ph: +510 7390485 E-mail:
ashokniyogi@yahoo.com NAPA 'Wine tasting and vineyard tour By prior
appointment only', Your final visit To Mr. Richmond's funeral parlor,
By prior appointment only, Bingo at the Ladies' club, Gentlemen to wear
clean socks only, Methodic rape of virgin meadows In geometric patterns
only, Houses painted in Spanish colors By Mexican labor only, Row upon
row of grape vines With gnarled brown stumps only, Back to Martinez via
scenic route four With a dead-end ahead only, Jalapeno with stuffed
cheese At 'Jack in the Box' only. Slush from tires, Incredible beauty
Through defogged car windows, In winter rain only. Ashok Niyogi, 39330
Marbella Terraza, Fremont CA94538 Ph: +510 7390485 E-mail:
ashokniyogi@yahoo.com CHINESE NEW YEAR Today, the sun has come out At
least through my rectangle of window, The eight palms that I can see
Look lush in the morning wind, They must be eating healthy and working
out. Yesterday began the Year of the Rooster At least in San Francisco,
With plastic floats to keep out the rain And a plastic Miss China USA.
The snails have loped back into the grass As have earthworms and sundry
poets, This is the year to hear, not talk, To seek guidance on stocks
and bonds. Starbucks coffee is superior To my favorite Borders blend
Espresso in china cups To warm your palms As you shelter from the rain.
I read The Waste Land to myself In cruel February, without lilacs, No
dead land, no Virginia Wolf, No Ezra Pound, no profound Joyce, Bypassed
Mr. Eliot's mischievous notes And walked the pedestrian path With
Michael North. Now I shall have to listen to Wagner, Read Dante,
worship with the Grecian gods, Maybe I will walk my mountain path And
see that man in front of me, Always, this is the year to hear, Not
talk. Ashok Niyogi, 39330 Marbella Terraza, Fremont CA94538 Ph: +510
7390485 E-mail: ashokniyogi@yahoo.com WARFARE IN MY BEDROOM Black ants
march in single file Ten workers to one warrior, From potted plant to
fallen crumbs Of strawberry cake, on duff carpet, Difficult terrain to
negotiate. Cockroaches stand their complacent ground, Nibbling,
antennae swaying, Like aerials out of armored cars, Ants return in
single file, Eight now to every warrior And some warriors limping away.
Four tug at a cockroach wing, The other four Drag the carcass of their
fallen two, Weighted down with medals of war. Cockroaches have the
advantage, They can mutate and migrate, Ants file back to their bloated
Queen Who feasts on dead ant (medals and all) And cockroach wing, And
lays her eggs. Ashok Niyogi, 39330 Marbella Terraza, Fremont CA94538
Ph: +510 7390485 E-mail: ashokniyogi@yahoo.com TREES ARE BARE Flowers
climb up subway stairs, Annotated with autumn snow, Ms. Karpova, button
up your mink, Hide yesterday's wine With Listerine. In Alicante, the
sea is cold, Mothball your bathing suit, Light my forest for your fire,
Orange, red and beaten gold. Dr. Gupta, lay out your Burberry, Three
buttoned blazers are out of fashion, As is inordinate passion, Palpate
my liver with lily hands, Has the cirrhosis bloated or shrunk? Hotel
California from which Eagles soar, The borrowed stress of immigration
cards Correctly filled out once more. Fingerprinted and photographed,
Ms. Sabatini shuffles her Tarot pack, Pulls out for me The Hanged Man,
'You have a nice day' 'You too'. Second mortgage on your home loan,
Throw your credit card dues in the can, Mend Tsunami bridges And censor
the debris away From Banda Aceh. Some trees are bare, Others sprout
leaves of infant green, Poppies and Petunia suffer the frost, My
universe emerges From the morning of dawn. Curl up your toes beneath
the comforter, Listen to the coffee percolate, Stare at dead leaves
with a frown, Light your first cigarette, Rub away last night's decay
See today, 'I'm calling from Minh Toes&; Nails, Don't hang up'.
Turkey inside brown bread, Without mayonnaise, One hundred calories.
Falling leaves, Dew drops from yesterday. Ashok Niyogi, 39330 Marbella
Terraza, Fremont CA94538 Ph: +510 7390485 E-mail: ashokniyogi@yahoo.com