River Ride

In the dream
I was aboard paddlewheel
Steaming jungle at riverbank.
sounds of mynah bird, parrot
Squawking rudely
Aggressively.
As if they would spoil the ride.
Shake up the calm water bearing.
Crocodile, bumpy rock
Eyes showing at surface
Observant or snoozing?
Biding his time for a buffet.
Scream of tiger
Cuts the air
And then the gruntings
Some quadruped being strangled.
And the damp, hot air
Strangling this riverboat guy.
Weeks after monsoons.


Shaking of the leg
Dropping of a pillow
Snorting, twice.
Gritty eyes squinting.
Alarm clock failed me.
Calculus college exam in
Forty minutes.
A biggy mid-term.
Have to phone Jerry
For a lift.
Bye bye jungle River.
Bye bye sub-continent.
Still hearing that mynah.