in these eyes lie ancient secrets

(a riff on the film Roja)

she tickles my ear with a golden brush

i wake from my nap with a primal sound

shakes like a jhimiki upside down

thinks she’s game to ease my frown

What does she know about my ears?

This organ that she tickles so casually?

these were the ears into which my father said

we were going to Malgudi Taluk to see my bride

these were the ears into which my brother whispered

broken instructions about our first night

these were the ears that my new wife sucked

during the artha jamam — the last quarter of the night

when we at last became husband and wife

these were the ears that swelled to the lusty cry

of a healthy baby girl

and reddened at the news of her mother’s death.

what does she know, this chit of the girl?

this Indian rose who flits on a one legged path.

she tickles my ears and wakes me up.

little knowing the stories that they hold

she thinks after all that I am an old man

who could use a trick

chinna chinna aasai

small small desires

she says