ANIL PETWAL

 A Dream Of The Dream City

In a strange dream once 
We travelled 
To a dry river bed 
Some distance from an ancient hill 
Once a tranquil playfield 
For the restless and the unrushed alike.

A new city had been erected there 
By angsty migrant workers 
As per the instruction manual 
Received from tech savvy architects 
Whose great dream it was 
To create a marvel of concrete
Next to the sublime hills.

Every window in every apartment there
Lit up each night with smart bulbs 
Via commands on smart phones
And in the lambent mornings
Humanoids in courteous voices
Woke the folks up
To Bon Jovi and Adele songs
Hypnotizing them with the soprano call of life.

As in most instances of annihilation 
The dream ended with water
On the cracked river bed
Tons and tons of water 
That had come crashing  
From the bursting belly of a giant cumulus
Conjuring an angry river 
That devoured and devoured 
Every pretty thing it touched 
As if there was nothing 
More urgent than its own craving.