Co- / -evolution, -adaptation, -habitation
1.
competition, the pragmatist
flaunts misinterpretation
of Darwin’s drunk feet
logging rainforests
for his own profit
millions of years
of collective evolution
and one whirring chainsaw
fight for a spot in documentaries
everyone discusses over mediocre dinner
2.
a thousand fig trees fell
their millions of specific wasps
flew directionless for a day
before the decay set in
frogs, ants, and barbets
feasted for the last time
before their forced migration
truck-flattened frogs
barbets with exit wounds
ants vapourised by the flood
of molten aluminium, unable
to burst away like wildflower seeds
Felling trees is the first sign of development
A boy of sixteen plants a future forest
That takes the government three decades
To notice, half more to declare as their own.
‘Here’s a reward, now look backward,’ they say,
‘There’s a new patch of land for you to work on.’
The snakes he saved get eaten by peacocks
He saved as his favourite season is monsoon
That keeps getting pushed around by yellow gods
Of unfettered mass construction
Or destruction, depending on who you ask.
‘Trees are always in the way of development,’
They say, ‘those green worshippers of sun
Guzzling the area’s water and resources,
For what? Our future concentration mansions
Will at least solve the housing crisis,’ they say,
‘We’ll think about climate in the next decade.’
Buying a flagship smartphone is the best thing some people do in their lives
Once the fever of getting married, making a child
Has died down, you’re met with a loneliness
Reminiscent of moving towns. New friends replace
Old ones hardly, if ever. Memories always sweeter
Than your once-held hands. Your days devour you
From within for as long as your career. You stroll
On technology with two thumbs, escaping. You
Are struck by an ad that lets you buy dreams
On installments. You feed it all your information.
Wait for the three-apertured God of a distant country
‘s wrath to come and drink your poison, posing
in every reflection you come across.
Lately, you come across them a lot.
Lavanya Arora (they/he) is an independent researcher and writer currently based in Bengaluru. Their work has appeared or forthcoming in Frontier Poetry, Soft Union, Tamarind Literary, RIC Journal, Kitaab, and elsewhere. They’re still writing their first novel.