A poem I wrote in record time, inspired by reading The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple. Perhaps some credit to the song Viva La Vida by coldplay which was a childhood favourite and had the same feeling for me too.

Let me also just shoutout Sam Dalrymple (on substack) and his incredible new book Shattered Lands which was the reason I went back to reread The Last Mughal in the first place.

Please try to read this out loud instead of in your head for the perfect intended effect.