Bolo Humsafar

Breathtaking you two
Menaka and Arundhati
tiptoe on watercolors
into your wonder, a home
side by side,
your
alta
painted feet
leave prints, tattoos
of belonging
left foot, right foot, left foot
right foot, same shape
same size and same sex
an embryo unfettered, of
desire, desire, desire,
her hands in your hair,
your hair
come uncoiled, as desire
becomes
untold, untold desires of
you and her, Her and you
come uncoiled
become uncome,
you break a rib
from her sternum, attach
to your chest, her moonshine
to your broken sky
she steals an iris
from the lake of your eye
swallows it, glistening
you and her twisted
into a landmine, ticking
waiting to happen
your heart throbbing
into pupils of gypsies
who roam along a
fertile valley of whispers
Menaka and Arundhati
you, be
Hadrian and Antinous
an overdue acknowledgement
you claimed

bolo – speak
humsafar – companion
alta – red foot paint on brides. Auspicious, symbol of luck and fertility

First published here.

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