Poetry 2013 Shortlist, Minu Varghese

Incessant Interview

When curiosity breaks limits,
forays into areas forbidden,
like the personal lives of others,
it turns useless but dangerous.
It is tough for those
with difficulty discriminating
the personal and private,
to hold it back when inappropriate.
They bombard even mere strangers
with questions innumerable;
irksome questions, unsettling questions,
probing questions, all sorts of questions
about private matters.
Some cultures so ingrain it in the psyche
of individuals that they consider it integral
to socializing, an expression of solidarity.
Rumours thrive as all this data gathered
are processed in the confines of
the dark ditches for minds
that value these worthless data precious,
even essential to  existence
and spread around generously.
Some even think it is social service;
this collection of personal information
circulation of it without any qualms
at violating the privacies and rights of others.
One should forever be alert,
to identify the advances of
the insatiable prying noses. 
To resist, to fend oneself off,
to be ready with the right responses,
and ward off the pests who come
to dig up your past, survey the present
and foresee a bleak future all in service
for you, to warn, to counsel, and to prepare you
out of sheer goodness of heart.