Ponnaga Poem by indira babbellapati

Placenta night gathered
Thickness as mucous
On that unlighted lane
There on that rain-soaked lane
I chanced upon them scattered
And gleaming bright white
In the pools of light the car threw up
On the rain-drenched tar-
Five petals with long stems
Under a tree that still sent
A shower whenever the leaves willed
I pulled my car aside
And rushed to meet them
To gather a forgotten childhood for once
One two three…
The petals coated with damp mud
And the yellowishgreen stems
Hidden by the dark tar
Queerly exuding a forty year old perfume
Gathered once upon a time
In course of an unblemished childhood
How immaculate naive hands
Wove plaits with the stems
Coated in unadulterated dirt!

They looked forlorn through the night
And by morning withered
The mud still clinging…

12 Nov 2010
21.40hrs