1)
The pot-bellied man with raven’s night skin
led me through a grass-winged path
that rose like yeast from mouldy earth
mesquite grew. mosquitoes stung
we shared a coffee at a truck-stop, discovered a common tongue
in Tamil, his name meant dreadlocks—Sadaiyan-- which he had
strangers in a foreign land, we became fast friends.
he was a snake catcher from my village
in the blue mountains of south India
where clouds ran to capture blue streams below
and smoked hives dripped honey ceded by angry bees
the snake hunt begins with smeared turmeric, sacred ash
said this savior tasked to catch
marauding Burmese pythons that invaded Florida swamps
last week, one swallowed an alligator and exploded, said dreadlocks
both died.
His teeth gleamed white- ivory on ebony
skin I longed to touch
2)
you are not welcome here, my grandfather used to say
to dreadlocks-- people like him
Beat a drum. Ring a bell. Hold a torch when you enter my village
so that I can duck inside. not see you.
so that I can stay ritually pure.
pariahs, they were called by my ancestors
bell-ringers barred from brahmin villages
where smug men took off their sacred threads
before copulating with low-caste bountiful breasts
pariah women are bedded best
their namesake kites, Milvus migrans, now called
Black. is that better?
two kites circle a twilight sky
one is Black, sans story or song
the other, Brahminy, an avenging god’s steed
the pariah kite’s call is fierce outrage
the brahminy’s cry is an insult to the form.
two kites circle a twilight sky
scavengers both, seeking a fishy afterlife
3)
I touch the black man’s naked skin
its softness a shock. an Arab horse’s shiver.
his white irises, guarded. like closing lotuses.
on top of the mountain two nutcrackers stand guard
a village festival with lurching toy sentinels
a rainbow tent, kaleidoscopic rides
people hurry past staring at us
“You are not welcome here.”
kites swoop down picking bones and meat
inglorious carcasses of a vain civilization
mine.
the stench of death drowns out the noise
of spectators watching a bloody bull fight
Shoba Narayan is the author of five books and a freelance writer. She has written about food, arts and culture for a number of publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Condenast Traveler, Gourmet, The Guardian, Financial Times, and The National among others, winning a James Beard award and Pulitzer Fellowship in the process. She divides her time between India and the US. She hosts and anchors Bird Podcast, a top-rated podcast about birds and nature. She has made films, and done radio work for NPR and Radio New Zealand. She was featured in five episodes of the TV show, Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie.