she spits out hurt like fire
a dragon in her own flesh
what little can he do
but pull out a cigarette

he'd rather burn his lungs instead
to refrain from saying things simply
misread


© A. Leigh

I  can't  promise  you  it  wasn't the
way the night went cold or  
how their breaths began to swallow
                 syllables  rolling  off   freezing
tongues.  I  can't  promise  you  it wasn't
the   weariness   in   fractured  smiles  or
the slight movement of his  hand  across
innocent  skin, or  the way he whispered
sweet nothings crawling down the back of
her spine. But I can promise you this: the
cerulean gleam of  the  incandescent sky
hid the moon and stars she longed to see,
while the cold rocks cutting into her back 
shattered what little love of the world
she had left inside her weary soul.


© A. Leigh

Nothing is really mine except Krishna.
O my parents, I have searched the world
And found nothing worthy of love.
Hence I am a stranger amidst my kinfolk
And an exile from their company,
Since I seek the companionship of holy men;
There alone do I feel happy,
In the world I only weep.
I planted the creeper of love
And silently watered it with my tears;
Now it has grown and overspread my dwelling.
You offered me a cup of poison
Which I drank with joy.
Mira is absorbed in contemplation of Krishna,
She is with God and all is well!




O my King, my father, nothing delights me more
Than singing the praises of Krishna.
If thou art wrath,
then keep thy kingdom and thy palace,
For if God is angry, where can I dwell?
Thou didst send me a cup of poison and a black cobra,
Yet in all I saw only Krishna!
Mira is drunk with love, and is wedded to the Lord!




The heart of Mira is entangled
In the beauty of the feet of her Guru;
Nothing else causes her delight!
He enabled her to be happy in the drama of the world;
The Knowledge he gave her dried up
The ocean of being and becoming.
Mira says: My whole world is Shri Krishna;
Now that my gaze is turned inward, I see it clearly