Sunday, October 11, 2015

To Thandikulam Station: A song of the Vanni

Wanting nothing
Needing nothing 
Expecting nothing
Fearing nothing

Fabric all around
Village fabric all around
Village fabric neat
Village fabric cared for
Village fabric watched
Village fabric raked
Village fabric trodden
Village fabric lived in like a sarong

Dogs all around
Cows all around
Cows by the side
Dogs in the road

People passing
Fences passing
Aromas passing
Aroma of cooked curry leaf
Aroma of burning

Featureless full of features
Full of hand-hammered features
Full of dug features
Chopped features
Spilled features 
Built features
Culverted featured
Planted features
Walled features 
Watched features
Poured features
Plucked features 
Bright features
Dim features 

Doorways and openings
Dark inside the caves
Dark inside the screens
Dark behind the openings 
Dark beside the bright
Hung bananas heavy
Cakes and biscuits "light"
Lightest are the reloads unseen
Unfathomed
Useful

Strains of music
Recorded seldom sung
Drums and bells and horns and voice

Strains of fabric
Woven and unwoven 
Found and unfound
Warped and woofed of generations
Barefoot and flipflopped
Shod and sandalled
Salted simmering
Stepping stirring 
Striped strapping
Sliding cycling

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