The Lloyds Tea House

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SivaRamanathan
Posts: 1168
Joined: 14 May 2011, 20:30

The Lloyds Tea House

#1 Post by SivaRamanathan » 21 Oct 2018, 20:17

Tea houses make me nervous-
only as far as ordering the right one.

I will have what you have,
is the easy way out

right from when the timer(thought it was sugar) is placed,
tea leaves jumping inside their captive bowl.

I have never seen the mechanism of it
a tryst with fancy named brands.

The teapot sits on the cup to clutch it
with distilled tea sprinkling in.

This was so new to me, I pretended
I knew it all well before, savouring the slightly bitter

the name and pedigree of the leaves canopied
in autumn whisked away from the sun

the underside of the leaves sylvan slithering
exotica, right from north north Indian hills.

When in local Chai shops, in Kerala,
I was comfortable with tea and poetry in a garage

the youth storming in, two benches
words were nadan, kattan, ghazalled from Captains.

Imagination was on the spot poetryfying
if Shashi Tharoor can get away with chutneyfying.

BobBradshaw
Posts: 2683
Joined: 03 Jun 2016, 21:03

Re: The Lloyds Tea House

#2 Post by BobBradshaw » 21 Oct 2018, 21:40

I like this, the contrast between the tea house and the garage, as well as the imagery.

Liked this a lot:
tea leaves jumping inside their captive bowl.

and this:
the underside of the leaves sylvan

and these 3 lines esp.:
When in local Chai shops, in Kerala,
I was comfortable with tea and poetry in a garage

the youth storming in, two benches

The closing 2 lines are awkward for me...esp. poetryfying...chutneyfying...maybe close on a scene of everyone sharing tea from marred bowls, the steam as warm as the company, a detail or two of the garage

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Billy
Posts: 1384
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 10:56

Re: The Lloyds Tea House

#3 Post by Billy » 22 Oct 2018, 00:10

I like the N's pretending to know.
I like the tea jumping inside the captive bowl and then the contrast with the poetry in a garage.

I assume Shashi Tharoor is a poet.

SivaRamanathan
Posts: 1168
Joined: 14 May 2011, 20:30

Re: The Lloyds Tea House

#4 Post by SivaRamanathan » 22 Oct 2018, 14:13

Thank you Bob and Billy. Very helpful.I will try changing it.

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