By Force of Habit

By Force of Habit

(By Vyasamoorthy)

Before retiring to bed,

I switch on the Mosquito Liquid dispenser,

without realizing that

the container is empty;

(which only serves the purpose of a faint night lamp

just showing me where the switches are)

By force of habit, I would say.

For 28 years,

I had lived in Shenoy Nagar, near Aminjikarai,

in Madras.

Whenever I set out for shopping

I used to tell my mother or others:

“I will go to Aminjikarai and come”

Now, I have settled

in Secunderabad since 1970 -

some 45 years have rolled by.

Lakshmi nagar and Karkhana

are neighborhood shopping places.

When I set out for local shopping,

I tell my children,

sometimes,

 “I will go to Aminjikarai and come”,

By force of habit, I dare say.

Last week

I was reading some very interesting news

that I wanted to share.

I called out

my wife’s name

instead of my daughter’s name,

though it is five years,

since my wife passed away.

By force of habit, I must say.

Will such things that you do

By force habit

Leave you

When you finally LEAVE?

Will YOU get into somebody else’s psyche

And become his force of habit?