Incarnations

by Tariq Mehmood

Three thieves came to town
Two bankrupt, one *bankdit
The bankdit had some cash
Two **Hollars, one **Lollar
The Lollar bought three generations
Two barren, one broken
The broken one made three promises
Two untruthful, one unkept
The unkept one promised three rivers
Two dead, one dry
Three Ministers bathed in the dry one
Two drowned, one disappeared
The disappeared one found three Judges
Two blinkered, one blind
The blind one found three three bulls
Two infertile, one impotent
The impotent one spawned three dollars
Two forgeries, one frozen
The frozen one had three incarnations,
Two unborn, one unliving.

*Bandits in the clothes of bankers
**Derogatory term for devalued currency

Tariq Mehmood is an Associate Professor at the American University of Beirut. His last two novels are set against the backdrop of the war in #Afghanistan:
Song Of Gulzarina – https://darajapress.com/publication/song-of-gulzarina
You’re Not Here –One brother goes missing in action in Afghanistan, the other falls in love with an Afghan girl in England.
Latest film: Ultraviolence – A film about the struggles for justice by the families of people killed by the police in the UK and the need for resistance to state violence.

In progress: 2nd Coming part of triptych novels with Melvin Burgess and Peter Kalu