XLI
A summer visit to Bombay
Is a hot and steamy event
85 deg. at sunrise
With humidity at 90%
It's said that ladies glow,
Men perspire and horses sweat,
But it's hard to feel ladylike
When you're wringing wet...
And the "glow" is running
Down your back and chest,
The heat saps your energy
And robs you of your zest.
Dewy beads of moisture
Form upon your face,
They link up with their neighbours
And together they race ...
Down your cheek and neck
Like a little rivulet
A tiny tumbling stream
Of swiftly flowing sweat.
Every cloud has a silver lining
So it is with Bombay's heat
As a smoother-out of wrinkles
The climate is hard to beat.
Fruit and flowers are compensations,
And though I feel a sodden wreck,
I can't remember when I last had
Such a smooth and unlined neck!
30,5,92
Written at Sahar Airport - the airconditioning had failed
and there were no fans. Making up this verse helped
pass a long uncomfortable night.
