What's your name?

This is my first attempt at poetry after decades.

I have been inspired by MV Fabiyas, a poet who lives in a village in North Kerala, but publishes poems all over the world.

Here's the link to my write-up about him:

https://shevlinsebastian.blogspot.com/…/the-village-poet.ht…

And here's my poem:

What’s your name?

By Shevlin Sebastian

I am so happy

My mother gave me an unusual first name

For somebody who lives in India.

When I utter it

People squint their eyes

Their eyebrows shoot up

Sometimes, they open their mouths

Trying to figure out

Whether I am Hindu, Muslim,

Christian, Jain, Parsi, Sikh or Jew

They want desperately

To pigeonhole me

And once pigeonholed

They can let their prejudices rise up

Like a nuclear submarine

Coming up to the surface

But with this first name

They can’t do that

No other name, they ask?

No, I lie.

Let them stew

In their frustrations

Such awful people

These racists,

These bigots,

These fascists.

Thank you, Mother!

(Published in AllPoetry.com)

https://allpoetry.com/Shevlin_Sebastian