WALKING ABOUT IN AJMER*

this lathe grinds fine
circles
within balls of fire
head tonsured
patchwork
on foot walks
watery in afternoon sun
this season's mangoes
outside the vodka shop

once
emperors walked barefoot
the ask the sun for a son
boon granted
the corn is dull yellow
heavy
bent

dynasties outgrew
this gate
that once led
to crossroads
of the moonlight
a huge red fort
and a hospital for the birds

let me buy you
a mirror-work skirt
in atonement for puppets
heavy on string
dew zoomed in
by the muezzin

while you grow roses
in your basil garden
and my money plant runs amok

*Ajmer, in Rajasthan, near Delhi has the shrine of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti (1138-1225 AD), the famous Sufi saint.


-Ashok Niyogi


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