I Sit in Front of the Television

I sit in front of the television,
Images staring at me
Like a mongoose trying to snatch back its fair share
Like leaves teasing from a branch
Like me looking at you and thinking
Thinking if your fingers still feel like the curve of a noodle
I sit in front of the television
Doraemon stares at me
Looks into my eyes
and dares me try instant noodles
Making them seem like a concoction of perfectly added spices
Like the poly-bags my mother stores for recycling
Like a fairy tale on a perfect landscape
Like snatching stiffness out of a bamboo
Or my spine out of me
Like my likes running out of you
The way your sight runs from me
I sit in front of the television
It advertises Maggi noodles
Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!
I look at him
Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!
He teases my gaze
Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!
I see it and it evades my gaze
I see it and it starts to lie in my brain like cigarette butts
Like water on flower petals
Like you on my bed
I sit in front of the television
Pictures of instant noodles all over the screen
Vegetables spread like blood in a war-zone
Like birds on a barbed wire
Like flowers in your garden
Like hair in my shower
I look at my shower and dream of noodles
But they’re not there
A forbidden taste
Like the tip of your tongue, hits me
Like the heat of noodle soup burning me
Turning me into a barren forest
Delved deep in longing for its flora
I sit in front of the television
And it stops working