Ponnaga

Placenta night gathered Thickness as mucous On that unlighted lane There on that rain-soaked lane I chanced upon them scattered And gleaming bright white In the pools of light the car threw up On the rain-drenched tar- Five petals with long stems Under a tree that still sent A shower whenever the leaves willed I pulled my car aside And rushed to meet them To gather a forgotten childhood for once One two three… The petals coated with damp mud And the yellowishgreen stems Hidden by the dark tar Queerly exuding a forty year old perfume Gathered once upon a time In course of an unblemished childhood How immaculate naive hands Wove plaits with the stems Coated in unadulterated dirt! They looked forlorn through the night And by morning withered The mud still clinging… 12 Nov 2010 21.40hrs