Ifs and dos and don’ts for the queer in 76 countries

Poetry, Oct '13
By Rajib Chakrabarti

Learn the art of concealing

the thrill that you feel deep within.

If you fall in love

don’t let it so soften you

that the inevitable hurt becomes unbearable.

If you don’t score high on intelligence

social and emotional

if you can`t master the twin arts

of repression and sublimation,

seek and find respected escape

in religion or erudition,

you hardly have a shield or armour.

Invest wisely to get

secure emotional dividends.

You may caress and cuddle with words

but with an eye

on the line.

Control the smoke at least

if you can`t control the fire.

Love is a dangerous word,

as a safeguard against a huge pitfall

probe deep to find out the sub-category.

Watching an adulterous murderer being tried

I quake in fear

because my congenital difference

is no less odious to them.

Rajib Chakrabarti teaches English and hopes that scientific rationalism and secular ethics will one day replace religious dogma.