maria, paan stained , two toothed smile
maria in rusting white mundu
maria rushing in like a prophetess,
singing her psalms aloud
(when maria had a glass of toddy too many)
maria , mother of twelve
maria, wife of the coffin maker
maria, child bride at twelve
maria , my grandmother's maid
maria comes calling on christmas eve
for fried chicken and rum
maria drops in every other day
just to see the her "family"
maria, came to town
a child on her father in law's shoulder
maria,huddled under my grandmother's bed
when the coffin maker was drunk
sit awhile with maria
feel her soft white tresses
hold her shaking hand
and dip gently into her memories
the night of the storm
when the mango tree was struck by lightning
and my grandmother sitting stubbornly on the verandah
waiting for my father to come home from drama rehearsals
maria says there was always a lit latern
before the break of day
under it my grandmother toiled like a farmhand
while her sons were in medical school
and maria talks of grandfather's first wife
and how he mourned her when she died at fifteen
maria says he could never forget her
and my grandmother only had her sons and the land to love
maria cant go on for long
memories of the dead coffin maker, her sons
and her homeless state break her story
and she sobs.
heaven must be place made for souls like maria
waiting
with lots of toddy and familar faces .
heaven a home
with her coffin maker and my stubborn grandmother.
4 comments:
manju here.
you are too lazy to write serious poetry.
manju:'serious' is your business.
over here just meet maria and sit and hold her hand.
I met Maria one too many times. How about her wanting some money for the evening toddy. Her constant complaining, having all ailments in the bounds of her imagination.. What constitutes serious poetry?
anon:serious poetry? lets ask manju, she's a student of literature and writes pretty good stuff. will post some of her stuff here when i have the time .
and people like maria are too old to be dissected. old twigs break when bent. so let her be.
and anon thks dropping by. give yourself a name.
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