In my always temple


 there are 184,000 deities
open skies
          old ruins
        fresh expressways
mountain trails
             whale killings
                              gunfire
                                cricket matches
play schools
         feverish love
                   mad desires
quiet saints
          dance competitions
              discarded condoms
                            wheat fields

and ELEPHANTS ROAMING WITHOUT CONTEXTS

In my always temple
 say cheese
           jet streams
                  forests on fire
bullet wounds
             shrapnel
                 French kisses
full moons
      radiant sunflowers
            armoured trucks
                       space shuttles
thatched huts and CLOTHES DRYING ON A CLOTHESLINE TIED TO A TREE

In my always temple
                  there are lost people trying to find their way
bamboo clumps
             bitter gourds
                    book launches
giant redwoods
               railway tracks
                    grenade launchers
sit-down dinners
            open-pit mines
                   algae
and NAKED TRIBAL WOMEN BATHING IN STREAMS

In my always temple
         there are animal-shaped pencil boxes
flower arrangements
                           radars
                              dance gurus
comic book artists
                     fighter jets
                           forested valleys
monsoons
         mud huts
and a KITE CIRCLING OVERHEAD

In my always temple
    it’s always prayer time.   

     Bring some flowers.
wild.       blue.

__
Salil Chaturvedi
salilwheels@gmail.com