Traces I by Zaira Ahmed. Image Courtesy: ArtChowk Gallery
when the dry season is close to over in the village over the turn-bridge,
the papaya trees bear flowers in white
and the young pale shoots of bamboo loom over the uthan.
when the dry season is close to over in the village over the turn-bridge,
red spinach is cooked and there’s the smell of the ripe jackfruit
– the kind that a pair of skunks will fight over.
when the dry season is close to over in the village over the turn-bridge,
the bhan-walas on rickety NH24 will have tires-full of loam.
their nights will sing in damp wind.
~ Shibaji Ray
Shibaji Ray lives in New Delhi, India. His poems have been published in Mad Swirl and are forthcoming in Femficatio Magazine.
