Benares
Ganges
Early morning
Sun comes pale pink
Out of dust horizon
Long warm days before monsoon
Stone and concrete reflect the dawn’s new light
Gold temple tops cast
Daytime stars onto this timeless river
People bathing, praying
Working
Dugouts float past
Barely moving
Oars creak
Temple bells toll
Voices over water . . . hushed
A trail of laundrymen beat shirts, and sheets and saris
Against rocks worn smooth
So many lives ago
No one remembers
Songs and whopping
Echo
Krishna! Whop! Om Shanti! Whop! Jai Rama! Whop!
Vultures soar patiently
Without effort
Gliding above blue fog mist
Mingling with smoke from burning ghats
Along the shore
The end and the beginning.
Author’s Bio: Based in Seattle, Washington, Bruce Dodson is an artist with interests in photography, fiction and poetry. His works have appeared in journals such as Sein und Werden (UK), Kerouac's Dog Magazine (UK), Breadline Press West Coast Poetry Anthology, Blue Collar Review, Struggle, Chantarelle's Notebook #23, Pearl Literary Magazine #44, Pulsar Poetry (UK), and Centrifugal Eye. He can be reached at: 2crows@earthlink.net.
No comments:
Post a Comment