the origins
remain under-
neath your coarse, blue, over-
grown nails which brought to life
twenty mango saplings
and two mangosteen
trees in our back
yard and scraped the ground when
ridden with grief upon the death of a kitten
dearer to your heart than
the earth,
wherein lies your treasure
and reward, where one day you
too will give shelter and shade
to a crackling egg,
preparing for flight and watch
fruits unplucked falling, rotting and bloating in the rain, some to be carried away by birds
others to sink, maybe grow and be scattered
by migrants.
remain under-
neath your coarse, blue, over-
grown nails which brought to life
twenty mango saplings
and two mangosteen
trees in our back
yard and scraped the ground when
ridden with grief upon the death of a kitten
dearer to your heart than
the earth,
wherein lies your treasure
and reward, where one day you
too will give shelter and shade
to a crackling egg,
preparing for flight and watch
fruits unplucked falling, rotting and bloating in the rain, some to be carried away by birds
others to sink, maybe grow and be scattered
by migrants.
Illustration by Sanjana Acharya
Article 19 