Two scenes: en plein air

 
I
Dawn sprints across
a sky of melting 
copper. 

Flushed with
young love 
for the universe,
pink
by degrees.

The scented breeze 
heralds 
the romping divine
to the world
getting ready for
the battles
with the sharks in suits.

At the advent, they open
tiny eyes, the flowers
on 
the thorns, the
trees sing songs
in tongues, heard
earlier by the 
seers in sylvan settings;

the waves smile 
at 
the radiant goddess
who briefly
covers the land and 
the sea
with a mantle 
of deep orange-red!

II 

Joyous, sad, same time
she 
watches the
day unfold its certainties
and uncertain promises.

The eternal wanderer, witness 
to 
the faded brilliance 
of 
the starry night
that keeps awake
the hungry, sick, unemployed
and lovelorn, other side of 
the divide, punished
with death for any
breach.

The in-between hour
fade-in, fade-out moments, 
of gloom and light 
intermingled in equal measures,
produce 
a batch of luminous pigments
that mirror
the unfulfilled hopes, 
desires for more.

Dipped in the freshly-mixed
paste of the turmeric, henna
and silver, her soles
leave imprints 
of an intense ember
on the horizon that 
burns
with hot ardour 
for 
a fleet-footed maiden, about 
to disappear in the clouds.

.

Sunil Sharma
Picture Nick Victor

Bio: A humble word-worshipper: catcher of elusive sounds, meanings and images. Published 27 creative and critical books— joint and solo.
A winner of, among others, the Panorama Golden Globe Award-2023, and, Nissim Award

Sunil Sharma

Academic |Writer | Critic | Editor | Freelance Journalist | Reviewer | Literary Interviewer

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