‘Reincarnation’, Second Place in Poetry

    Reincarnation 

    by Anjali Pajjuri

     

    there are bhajans in these wicker chairs;  

    Kali’s warnings etched in persimmon.  

    turmeric and half-dried yoghurt massages,  

    coconut oil, sandalwood soap bars: 

                  all yield alabaster//virginal thought.  

    strawberry milk cools my cupped palms as  

    camphor winds carry mustard seeds and colonialism.  

    emerald moon, a female scorpion 

    paddy-field men push chariots laden by Aunty’s gossip (kalu! 

    in the marsh lies a kingfisher choked by tamarind’s veins; 

    but wasn’t i taught that temptation is a virtue?  

    i praise the milkmaid for her kindness and 

    recite this incantation:  

                 Mother, undo me.  

                  I rebirthed this fertile valley from my punctured breast;  

                  its blood suckled brown sparrows and stained okra plants.  

                  Thence, lay me down, if my in-laws will merit it. 

                  Creator, Divine Feminine, Sun-Gatherer, Desire me this.  

    serving uncles tangerine biscuit and tea on a plastic tray, 

    i wonder; i admit. 

     

    my consciousness is infinite, but my vices endow me. 

     

    Translations: 

    Bhajans: Songs with religious/spiritual significance in Indian religions.  

    Kali: Hindu goddess of doomsday and death. 

    Kalu: Indian colloquial term for “Black.” Negative connotation.