Tuesday 8 June 2010

The Sentimentalist

Spent a life mid dusty tomes
And the ghosts of antiquity,
Sighed his private longing sighs
For Something that Ought to Be,
Built his cottage in the air
At the shore of that sunless sea.


We let that bug-eyed jimmy know
Poetry don't sell
-Unless it's that new modern jazz,
Coffeetable razzmatazz-
Give em that reality
Right between the eyes.
Hot as Starbucks, instant mix,
The naked truth'll do the trick,
Shock if you can't surprise.

Nothin personal sonny,
But our research people show
Yer pretty does not work this crowd
And the stocks for love are low.

(And listen kid, you
Rhyme too much
To be
Genuine,
Y'know?)


His humour was unfunny.
His grief a private thing.
Anger didn't yield clarity.
Hard hitting was not in him.

So he retired to a paling paradise,
A mediocrity of a kind.
His last regret-
That Romantic death
Was now so hard to find.



8 comments:

Anushka said...

This, is Very different from your usual style. But it's really good. Choice of word apart, I love this particular brand of Thought.

Shalmi said...

Haa, really? You always say it's Good. But I really am not sure. Seemed so Different when I thought of it. That always happens..

Pratyush said...

The constrast is mesmerising. One can especially relate it to the music scene.

Would you mind if I use these as the lyrics to a song, with Beatles-y music in the italics and The Clash elsewhere? It would, I believe, be brilliant. And I would give credit where due, of course.

As an aside - Lucy in the sky with diamonds? Whoa! Taken aback.

joey said...

The second last verse Shalmi,is especially.

Shalmi said...

@ Pratyush:
Thank you, but no. I'm quite certain it's not good enough for that at all.

@ Joey:
Is what?

Urvashi said...

'But our research people show
Yer pretty does not work this crowd
And the stocks for love are low.'

This is strangely touching..

[PS. Are you a literature student? Just curious.]

Shalmi said...

@ Alchemy16:
Still in Class 12, have loved Literature always and am counting the days till I get to study it in college. And yourself?

Urvashi said...

Just about to start studying literature at Delhi University..
Funny, I always figured I was younger than you.