Six Travel Poems Poem by umar nizarudeen

SIX TRAVEL POEMS


Mudumalai

Through the mist, in the night
The driver spots you
And stops the van, as
You,
block the road
And refuse to budge.
We cower, inside the van
in primeval intimacy.
Outside,
Your words
Trumpet.


Desert

Iron wheels gobble up,
crumbs of desert.
The ghost of a river,
Flashes past, then
memories of water.


Courtallam

A lean, mean waterfall,
Spiting spray
Prehistoric memories
signal, redemption.
Pilgrims emerge
Bathed in clay
And lounge in the sun,
waiting to be reborn.


Seringapatnam

Of all the royal tombs
Engraved, embellished, and worshipped
Royals, courtiers, an entire harem
Of voluptuous dead,
A tiny piece
Of marble cake, catches the eye.
A child or a dwarf?
A prince or a jester?
A scholar or a spy?
A miniature or an epic,
In the tapestry of the cosmos.


Papanasam

Tourists bathe in the sun
On the fringes
Of sacred geography
Acquiring new sins
As we wash off our old ones.

God's Own Country

As the plane touches down
Kerala rises up to meet you
With coconut tree hands
Full of tourist brochure clichés
Welcome
Aloha
Swagatham.