Poem In Stone Poem by Padmanabhan Ananth

One Christmas morning, in Hyderabad*
At Salar-Jung Museum, forever famed
From our tourist bus, we quickly alighted
At the thoughts of her, my heart thumped

Rebecca of Isaac, his Biblical bride
Sculpted from marble, spotless white
By the Roman sculptor Benzoni
Way back in the mid-19th century

In that timeless poetry in stone
She is an anatomical perfection
Her innocence captured for posterity
By her sculptor so intricately, perfectly

Her stature slim, she's so very petite
Her footwear, clothing so articulate
On a single-stone pedestal she stands
Like Lisa of the Louvre, she draws crowds

She seems to draw off her lace caul
But undrawn on her face, it remains still
Translucent, elaborate crochet work, the veil
That it's made of marble - just unbelievable!

Her serene face, it lightly conceals
Her modest smile, so so timeless
But abundantly it reveals her beauty
And her pristine purity, naivety

After some hours that day in Yuletide
I have just not had enough, I realised
So the next day, I stealthily returned
More quietude with Rebecca, the Veiled!
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*located in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India