THEN

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
by Ashok Niyogi
extended motif
hammer and sickle
obsolete sheaves of corn
extended terrace
outside your window
empty cigarette packets
in abandoned snow
half empty eyes
like a Soviet gastronom
the thrill of a gaudy circus
stately dowagers
lost in a gypsy camp
just faded brush strokes
Shipkina tram lines blurred
in rain and vaporous pain
steaming up from gray asphalt
railroads into factories
overgrown with grass
in the morning
vodka with bottled water
knowing afternoon
would give up on evening
this is how it should be
otherwise walls won’t let you breathe
&
after all these years