Tuesday 10 May 2011

poem: rothko in mumbai

Rothko in Mumbai


Rothko's reds
pulse into life
his greys and blacks
are also seen
by tired eyes
welcoming sleep

If I could
I'd parachute
Rothko's canvases
into Mumbai

obliterate
the scarlet spatter
across the lobby
of the Taj Palace Hotel



I wrote this poem on November 27, 2008, when the Mumbai attacks were still continuing (in London time) after visiting the Rothko exhibition at the Tate Modern. In February 2011, I visited Chabad House, now being restored, bullet holes still in the wall, police officers standing outside.

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