Worship Poem by Prabhakar Subramaniam

In this desert city
So far away from home
To hear native words
Spoken on the street
Was like stumbling
Upon an oasis
After wading through
Hours of shimmering sands;
Never a dark skin was lovelier
White uneven teeth
Exhibited in an uninhibited grin
More welcome than a moon
The telltale accent
The fierce moustache
Brought before me
For a moment
Our folk deity
Still guarding the peepal tree
I greeted the beautiful stranger
With unabashed tears.