"Oh, I was not aware!"

Those who love to plead ignorance...
with staple expressions of shock and surprise
and the standard submission "Oh, I was not aware!"

are visibly happy in the cocoon of their pretence
relishing the litany of fake acts, one after another ...
of dramatic disbelief and theatrical sighs
at developments they follow by the minute

Little do the poor souls know
their perturbed faces tell the real story
with resounding force
and compounding effect

That mounting age helps us look beyond
is only a fabled myth
It only ferments our desperation
and immortalizes old habits
which never die, hard or otherwise.

© Sudhir Raikar