Today’s theme is to write an “instruction poem”, apparently. This is my attempt at that.
Ink
“Make sure you don’t get stains on this”
Your parents tell you when you get your first white formal shirt in Grade 4.
And you take that seriously: because the punishment might be severe,
Or worse you may disappoint your parents,
Which is for some reason, something you fear.
Except then you’re introduced to fountain pens,
With the perfect weight-balance,
The smoothest writing,
And the weapon of choice for every pre-teen with pent-up energy,
Getting inked does not mean getting a tattoo,
But is a rite of passage.
The first ink blot on your white shirt will scare you,
Because of the punishment at home,
But will make you laugh at it’s memory.
So here’s my instruction to you,
Child who is insolently crying in the corner with an ink blot on his shirt.
Stop crying
And throw ink on the fool that got you –
Because enduring punishment is easier in pairs.
Tejas Rao 