For Bhaskar Khaund, 48, middle age is an unkind phase, complicated by COVID-19, where life revolves around school fees, electricity bills and grocery supplies. Insulated in a flat in downtown Dubai for over six months, miles away from the Indian cities (like Mumbai) he has lived in, Khaund not just worries about the narrowing possibilities, but debuts as a poet. In his self-published e-anthology, available on Amazon, he presents a slice of his life, loss and loneliness, much on the lines of those seeking a catharsis in the written word.

But, while Khaund's poetry is about sharing personal anxieties and insecurities, it is more about his belief in love as the sole factor that will help us, his readers, sail through personal crises as well as the pandemic. His articulation of the role played by love—romantic, familial, societal—uplifts his "middling poems" to sensitive verse. For him, love is a pay cheque, it reflects in the title "Love Poems Sell, He Said, To The Extent Any Poems Sell". To begin with, the debutante dwells on the financial stress, which ultimately prompted him to take to poetry, months before the lockdown. One can see "Rent is a heartbreak", also "Love is thinking about politics , love is liberty & free speech, and the poorest being looked after." A middle-aged rebel is standing in front of the mirror to assess his choices, lifestyle and past escapism. He looks back at his younger self—"Papa you're a good guy/ I wish I had done better"—with characteristic regret.