Jayat is a Masters student pursuing a degree in Development Studies from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai, India.

Jayat Joshi

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Humbling Tooth Pain

Wisdom tooth pain
Cracks up in my palate
Like a brain-shaped walnut
I twitch, startling
A sparrow at my window
Who flees

At the annual conference of sparrows
I suppose there is one
The representatives of startled birds
Swallow their frustration
It can't be helped they are told
The dentist tells me likewise

New teeth bite more within
Old ones stumble
Obediently, like autumn leaves
Startling no sparrows