The chimney once
was a fountainhead
of smoky rush;
and freshly baked scent
wished bon appetit
to all who inhaled;
the breathing chimney
stamped
a guaranteed
two square meals
and a roof above
to those destined
forever beneath the line.
The phallic pillar
upright against the sky
proclaimed it's right
of the patriarch,
preening
breadwinner's pride,
pampered and revered,
arrogant in success,
trampled lesser mortals...
Now forlorn, dusty and cold,
the conflicting personality
has gone to sleep.
An era of demigods ceased
only middling exist.
No more breathing out aroma,
the pillar stands in oblivion
of its benefactors' short term memories.
Nabanita Sengupta
Nabanita Sengupta is a translator, creative writer and scholar. She teaches in an undergraduate college in Kolkata and has multiple books to her credit.
