Having removed my shoes,
how different!
as I enter the temple.
By the bank of the river,
pointing to God,
- the washer-man.
The young prostitutes
laughing
as they bought new shoes.
Smoking,
with an old man,
I cannot pretend to be otherwise.
Just one fresh salad
would lead
to twenty-one days sickness.
Night-time has fallen,
hundreds of thousands of bodies,
lying draped in the streets.
Tied to a coconut tree,
drying in the sun,
the tail of a manta ray.
Believing he was Kali,
he chopped off a head,
yet his smile was so gentle.
Twilight on the hotel verandah,
witnessing huge black fruit-bats,
cascading from the trees.
That cloudy afternoon,
a boy & I chased a rat,
our shorts & sandals dancing.
From the fog by the bridge,
softly the transvestite would call,
each winter's moon.
As I wander the temple
swallows dart to & fro,
- the cool stone!
Beauty