come away

“For sale
Estate :2 acres of rubber, teak and coconut with a house (Tiled roof )in good condition.
Location: Muvattupuzha, kerala”

Said an ad in the folds of the morning paper, just this morning
And I feel I have bought the place already

And I can feel the rain already
The rain falling on my house with the tiled roof

And the soft peaceful pillows of smoke that float out of rustic chimneys
Slow smoke that tell you not to rush,

And my hands . they can feel the rough bark of the trees already
My hands are tired of touching keyboards,steering wheels and such

And I can taste the sweet milky morning tea I will sip
Sitting on the steps of the verandah waiting for the sun to come out from the trees.

And I can hear the calling from the cows already
All five cows and a calf , calling from the hills around


(this city does not have hills enough
this city does not have calves
this city does not have paddy fields to hold july rains
this city does not have the crickets song)

and oh that ? that’s me under the huge cashew nut trees(the estate will have cashew nut trees of course)
picking fallen red orange yellow fiery fruit

trees with low bouncing boughs near my feet
and I take the swinging stairway. up high

and I can hear only the thunder for iam under the blankets with my son and daughter
whispering .

the mango tree is on fire. Fallen from lightning
but its okay. See the cows are quiet. Its safe.

And I know my farmhands already
A man and wife who will tend to each bittergourd flower like their child

And they talk to their cats and they will weep hugging the bark of the trees
They wont say much,and I don’t expect them to.

But don’t be surprised if the man walks in at dusk
With sleeping orphaned baby squirrels in his shirt pocket

And I will have a fallen coconut tree bridge made
So my neighbour can walk across and have tea once a week

And I know what I will speak. About the thunder and the fallen mango tree
About the harvest and about the pepper prices

And my son and my daughter . I can see them run to school, after they feed the cows
And bathe in the stream. Barefoot with the lunch wrapped in banana leaves.no books

No books . only we will read Tennyson while watering the plants
And the rest they can learn of the land.

Oh I didn’t tell you about the stream? We discovered it by accident.
I can hear the paddling in Banana tree canoes.

The crumble of the dried leaves , the wild berries and the rabbits we will catch
The green shiver of moss after it rains , the mushroom patch

(You see, this city doesnot have mango trees
no frogs, no grasshoppers
this city does not have gooseberry trees
this city is never mine)

I saw the ad just this morning and I have fled
to a house with a tiled roof among trees.