Anna Cates
Wilmington, Ohio, USA

Vignette

bansuri tune
a boy lights a swastika
of candles

By the River Ravi, near the village of Kartarpur, a yogi sits cross-legged in the dust. At the Golden Temple, pilgrims proffer coins for bread.

By the sacred waters, songs lure Sikh bathers.

Across the Pool of Nectar, beside the gatehouse, before the throne of the timeless god, the tireless sunset . . .

blood rain
the solemn eyes
of a hijra