of friends

i can’t be arsed
with the poetry of love

gimme poems that are spat
like red kwai juice,
leaving lips stained
and teeth charred

reminding
not so much of lovers
as of friends
in love

which is not to say
i do not love
but that
it is none of your business
i do.

1. Kwai is the Khasi name for the combination of areca nut, betel leaf and lime that is widely chewed in South-east Asia.

2. In Khasi legend, there were two close friends, one a rich man, the other very poor. In the course of their friendship, the rich man invited the poor man to his home for a meal, which the poor man enjoyed. The poor man in turn invited his rich friend for a meal. On the day however, the poor man and his wife realised that they had absolutely nothing to offer their rich friend, and killed themselves in their shame. When the rich man came to the house, he saw their dead bodies and realised what happened. Out of grief for what his friend had done, he killed himself too. It was after this the gods gave the Khasis kwai, so that even if one had nothing to offer a visitor, one could offer kwai. The areca nut represents the rich man, the betel leaf represents the poor man, and the lime is the blood.