The old dog on New Year’s Eve

by Vandana Kumar

The old dog on New Year’s Eve
Someday I shall be like that old dog
The one who has seen this city
In all its nakedness
Nothing interests him
He won’t budge
No matter how many times
And which lady of illusions, strips

On those nights of a fading December
I shall be that old dog
Under a rickety bridge
On the verge of collapse

I shall smirk
Seeing fools lined up
Those who think world peace will be sprinkled on them
In some New Year Eve’s confetti that flutters down

Someday I shall be that dog
A little too comfortable
With that worn out rug beneath
And nothing shall push me
To ask questions
From any regime

Someday I shall be that old dog
Not chasing a new car in the block
Someday I shall be stoic
Someday I shall be wise

Today the heart is open
Whimpering
Whining
Yelping
Today the heart is open
And a New Year’s window
Will let in the draught

Vandana Kumar is a French teacher, translator, recruitment consultant, Indie Film Producer, cinephile and poet residing in New Delhi, India. Her poems have been published in national and international websites, journals and anthologies of repute. She has been a part of seminal feminist anthologies like the Indie Blu(e) publication ‘The Kali Project’. Her cinema articles appear regularly in ‘Just-cinema’ and ‘The Daily Eye’. Her recent collection of poems ‘Mannequin Of Our Times’ (February 2023) – has been awarded the ‘The Panorama International Book Award 2023’.