Where’s your OCI card
[the British stirred it in their tea

like sugar]
Why didn’t you extend your visa
[I thought the gods stamped it unconditional]
You will need to pay the penalty
[is that the wrong-passport fee

to visit our cultural sites?]
You have an Australian passport
[the loss was uninsurable

like a pre-existing condition]
What is your work
[I can only pay the penalty with ink—

here’s a poem]
In what language do you write
[unlike Sita, I can’t pledge my purity]
Angrezi is your stepmother’s tongue
[don’t you know? the ships unmothered me

before I was born]
Why are you still travelling
[it’s where I live

and dream]


Note

OCI = Overseas Citizen of India