Dr Fixit (001 - 020)

001

I would have loved

to do this writing at

a precisely perfect time;

to tell you about life

from letter A to Z

or number zero to nine:

the random musings of

a highly educated

and widely travelled being;

the one who had

seen it all and can tell you

many a marvellous thing.

 

002

No perfect time as

there is nothing in life

that is quite perfect.

I know it because

I had been with the pope

and also the prefect;

I had been with

the king, his queen

and known their subjects;

I had travelled through

space with all contraptions

and eye-popping objects.

 

003

I won't be the fool

who rigidly refuses

to progressively forge ahead

but dwells on his

imperfections and lives

life virtually dead.

I had gone round

and tested everything

that is called perfection:

it is nothing more than

assumption and pretension.

 

004

So this is the time

that is apt enough for

this good old me

to tell you the story

of my life's every journey.

It may be short,

it may be medium,

or a tale very long

but I hope like

a good meal, you'd savour it

and click your tongue.

 

005

Like I said before:

I had seen it all –

I had slept in a warm bed

and on the cold floor.

I had gone hungry;

I had been filled to bursting –

I had been rich; I had been poor.

One time I had been

far above and at the other,

I had been deep under.

I had lazed on a beach

in the sun; I had been pelted

by the rain and thunder.

 

006

I had openly befriended

the rogue and secretly

detested the priest –

the latter was stingy;

with the former I got

filled to my very breast.

I had dived deep with

the submarine and flew with

rockets to distant space;

I had taken the salute

with the president

and with the drunk,

I utterly lost my grace.

 

007

I had lived with

the elephants and tickled

them inside their ears;

I had traced my way

through the furry bodies

of the burly bears.

I had fought with the worms

till they uncomfortably wriggled

and wrestled in vain;

if I fight the grasshopper,

just be rest assured,

I would burst its brain.

 

008

Humans think they are

wise but I am far

wiser than them all:

they hoard their grains

but I first take them

from the barn and stall.

Humans flex their muscles,

pompously talk and swagger

to show their power

but I creep and bite

their meaty frames and they

scream, sprint and scatter.

 

009

To be big is good

but big is not absolutely

everything in life there is.

Common sense more often

than strength and might

wins the ultimate life’s race.

In life, it does not

matter what are

your endowments or age.

Just pray for the nous

to use what you have got

to your greatest advantage.

 

010

Talking about endowments,

I have six great legs

and the grasshopper the same;

the big-eyed frog,

the bane of insects,

just four – such a shame.

But the very first time

I saw the millipede,

I stood and watched in awe:

counting such things

that it moves on, I swear,

would be a lifetime chore!

 

011

Having an equal amount of legs,

I had conceitedly thought

I and grasshopper were the same;

so I crept on the grass

towards him, nursing in

my mind some funny game.

I suddenly grasped his leg,

pulled and bit till he felt

a pain in his joint.

Grasshopper kicked, spread his wings;

then jumped and flew

to a dizzying point.

 

012

I was there in mid-air,

clutching to grasshopper's leg;

audaciously I hung there

like I didn't care

though I would love to beg

as grasshopper deliberately

tumbled on leaves,

branches and trunks

to set himself free

but I hung on till

we landed like two drunks.

 

013

Then I realized, looking

alike does not mean

two things are the same.

I decided and let go of

grasshopper's leg finally

in a field of sugar cane.

That day too, I realized

the effectiveness of

garnering as a group:

it is easy to lose

a fight as an individual

than as one united troop.

 

014

It is a beautiful thing

for anyone to fly

above ground with wings!

The space we flew over would

be hard to cover in days

with my stick-like limbs.

Since my birth I had

stayed and foraged

under mammoth trees:

a life of seeing

leaping monkeys, chirping crickets,

howling jackals and stinging bees.

 

015

My long troubled flight

with grasshopper brought me

to the human enclave.

It was so open, sunny

and breezy; I walked

only by being brave.

Further advancement happened

after replenishing myself with

juice from the sugar cane.

Energized now, I thought more

of where I was going

than where from I came.

 

016

Dehydrated and famished,

I could hardly

think, hear or see.

Now refreshed and full,

my ears and sight

were alive and leading me.

The sun shone brightly

in a vast blue expanse,

the birds sweetly sang.

The sugar-cane field waved

in the wind, butterflies flitted

and far off sirens rang.

 

017

I crept across the field

to see who owned

such a wolf-like wail.

I came to a cleared portion

and saw a guard with

a big dog wagging its tail.

Behind them were roaring

machines, all crept around

like gigantic caterpillars.

In the distance was architecture

like mammoth anthills raised

with blocks and pillars.

 

018

I sneaked past dogs

and uniformed guards to take in

more of the spectacle:

I saw more humans

manning more machines shaped

like square and circle.

Machines crushed the canes;

some conveyed brown

sugar crystals through funnels –

they rolled and got

mixed and white cubes

streamed out of many tunnels.

 

019

Humans in overalls put

the cubes in packets which

in cartons were packed.

The cartons were moved

and in the warehouse

were carefully stacked.

The crystal cubes looked

so inviting and I got close

to see what they were.

I tasted one and it was

so sweet and I got no qualms

putting up my base there.

020

Hours moved to days,

days to a week,

weeks rolled to months,

months to a year.

I had loved the sugar factory

but as boredom set in,

that I could not bear.

I hid in a packet of

sugar lumps and in

a container was taken out.

Being able to speak,

read and write now;

the direction we were

going, I had no doubt.

 {EXCERPT IS FROM 'DR FIXIT (AFRICA'S LONGEST POEM - VOLUME ONE)'.}