Ten men out to dine, soon they were down to
nine; nine men lost their head, one of them
dropped dead; eight men left to fight, now
they were a man light; seven men
decided to play, one fellow ran
away; six men crossed the
road, one of them
got bored; five
men took
a
boat,
one of
them couldn’t float;
four men jumped in
a sea, out came only
three; three men picked a card,
one guy cried hard; two men had
no clue, one of them lost his shoe;
one man wept alone, turned into a dry stone;
oh the poem is done for then there were none
Month: October 2025
God and Mayfly
God says, “Once you turn into an adult, you will have approximately twenty-four hours to live. Is that clear?”
Mayfly nods.
“That’s not a lot of time. So you better be quick about finding a mate. Clear?”
Mayfly nods.
“Like all other creatures, you also need to survive being eaten by other creatures. Or by deadly natural circumstances. Clear?”
Mayfly nods.
“If you fail to reproduce within this short span of time your species will go extinct. Clear?”
Mayfly nods again.
“Well, don’t just stand there nodding your head at everything. Don’t you have a question for me?”
Mayfly picks up a quill and scribbles on a dry leaf
NO MOUTH
Mayfly’s Speed Dating
A mayfly
May fly
May not fly
But it will
Definitely
Find a mate
Make love
Reproduce
All in a day’s time
Self-Illuminating Love
I wrote this poem to tell you, girl
How you simply light up my world
Doesn’t matter if it’s day or night
You make everything seem so bright
When you are gone, this silent room
Turns into a picture of gloom
So I urge you to sit and stay still
For I cannot afford my electricity bill
Unfinished Business
I have a feeling that this is not the end
Not everything between us is over, my friend
I have a feeling that you will reach out to me
After all I still owe you a hundred you lent me
That Empty Hollow Feeling
I fail to follow
Why I feel empty and hollow
Because you broke my trust?
Or because I skipped breakfast?
Instant Connection
I know you will never let go of my hand
No matter how hard I try to
Your eyes are filled with charm and
Your palm is full of instant glue
A British Retail Proposal
Wait, Rose; give me a moment or two
I promise aldi there for you
Asda man you want me to
In every lidl thing you do
I’ll always be as I m&s you want me to be
So I’ve got tesco something finally
Will it make sainsbury me?
You vs. Maya
This is you
You start your work fifteen minutes before your scheduled time
This is Maya
She usually works from home
When you speak
Boss scrolls through his phone
When she speaks
Boss looks at her with adoring eyes
When you make a mistake
It’s gross incompetence
When Maya makes a mistake
It’s part of her learning curve
When you suggest a process improvement
Boss looks at you with disdain
“Are you saying we’ve been doing things the wrong way all this time?”
When she suggests holding birthday celebrations every month
Boss looks impressed
“That’s a great way of encouraging team bonding and improving team spirit.”
A week before your deadline
You are called inside Boss’ cabin
To discuss work progress
One day before her deadline
She calls in sick
And her work is now your responsibility
When you are seen with your phone
You are inefficient and wasting office time
She exchanges memes with Boss
Your blood pressure is through the roof
She doesn’t know what blood pressure is
When you call in sick, your boss says
Are you really sick? Anyway, you don’t need to come to office but you can work from home. Since you can pick up the phone and dial my number, you can also open your laptop and press some keys, right?
When Maya calls in sick, your boss
Okays it and gently asks her about her health and tells her not to stress too much about her work as it will be delegated to someone else
That someone else is usually you
You have to take a ‘special’ course on powerpoint presentations, and pay for it yourself
She presents the slideshow that you prepare
You’ve worked hard the year round
Yet appraisal season stresses you
She comes out laughing from Boss’ cabin
She is Boss’ favourite
You are Boss’ favourite, when he wants to vent
You vs. Boss
You cannot be late to work. He can.
You cannot be seen idling at the water cooler with a colleague. He can.
You cannot be wrong with the figures in your presentations. He can.
You cannot be saying one thing one day and the very opposite the next day. He can.
You cannot make excuses. He can.
You cannot talk rot. He can.
You cannot tell him off. He can.
You cannot take the weekend off. He can.
You cannot be sarcastic. He can.
You cannot be funny. He can.
Most importantly, you cannot be calling in sick. He can.
Frank Solanki 