All the City's Secrets

The slight bite of the lilting sky,
As seen from a stolen window,
Is freer,
Than I have lately been.
They reveal secrets of
The city I breathe in.

The tightrope sways,
On either side of no.
One a wayfarer,
Another knows not
Where to go.
I smile down,
Captivated by the clock,
Killing one slow hour,
With another.

There swims happiness,
On dusty roads.
And there, look,
There's survival,
Selling candies and pins,
And hankies and hooks.
The women in the other building,
Look out sad too,
At their men,
And their children,
And the rupee in their hand
Or two.

They look at me, wondering,
Anger, envy.
I look back wondering,
Poetic frenzy.
The city's secrets are safe with us,
We share differences,
And it's silences.