My brother the Cretin

Hair flaxen flying in the cooler wind
Drool escaping
And arms wildly waving

Was he atonement, for bad karma?

Heads turn unabashed
As screams primeval rent the air
Blushing, my mother drops the shopping bag
Rolling down the aisle; a lonely cabbage

A curse perhaps?

Deathly quiet steals on the lingerie floor
As eyes rivet to
A desperate housewife a tormented mother
Collapsed on the waxed floor
Is him
Spent, hungry, sleepy

The devil reincarnate

Said the holy priest
Or a djinn to trouble good people
Rs.10001, two coconuts and a good meal to a pious man
A mahayagya
And leave it to the gods
My mother sobs
Today, even gods torment

Down's syndrome; genetic anomaly

My brother the Cretin
Sleeps on the floor
Feet chained to a calloused pillar
Mouth gagged with duct
Velcro straps on a pigeon chest
A picture of contentment
Tonight, my mother screamed
No more, she screamed , Tonight

Simian in deed, even lower in thought

Incarcerated finally
We sought asylum
From him
That tiny simian withered face
Those gnarled fingers and prying eyes
Continual embarrassment
Sending him away that night
Tossing and turning, debating and contemplating
What we did, is this human?

Ritwik Deo from somnolence
Quartear: left hemisphere