Oh July! Don't let me sleep!

How many days, for
How many days, did I slept
Hands tight, clenched fist, swollen heart
Until woken up by these cries!

July is a horror month
It bore me my curse
It pants ever slowly like a dying old man
July, the monsoon, the moisture
I don’t know what to mop and what to soak
But, someone cries every night
In this month of July, and
I sleep carrying my dead body
Wherever it wishes to go,
From gardens to graves
From libraries to mortuaries.

Oh July!
She still smiles at me;
You are a horror month
You let her go, with all the smiles
And I sleep every night
Waiting for her, to touch me again
But, how do I endure
Your cries, calling for a date with poets
Yet asking for a reason to be aloof, and alone.

Oh July!
Don’t let me sleep,
Even if my body brings the qualm of a drunken daily wager
Don’t let me sleep,
Even if my house drips your heavy downpour, like a crying widow
Don’t let me sleep,
Even if I have to wake up early for my gate, to welcome the thieves.

Oh July!
Don’t let me sleep,
I can’t wait for another July!

***July 16, 2009***