The Prayer-Book For The Devotee Of Light

Cashew Trees, Late January 

There's an aroma when you get near them,
As the wind wafts their ponied ear- ring leaves,
Tossing, the filled maroon pink  
Spindles waiting to light up their
Secret chandeliers.
Among their Curved spines petal-besotted,
the Chipmunks nestle, they sing songs      
Of colored rains of hazel nuts,            
the Joys of  plumping flesh,                
still a secret for the far away bees.
Quiet breath of rising light is here,      
all in sunflower,                                      
as upon late January mist,              
beauty shapes its marvels,              
vying with coral,  
emerald and sapphire,                                              
Only to  gift its finest treasures  
wrought secretly all night,      
carelessly upon sand and stone          
Like a philanthropist                
Bejeweling earth.

Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati
Or, 
Birds of Sacrifice

The early  clouds in the sky
 Reflect last evening's  red 
Upon the oil stone.
The morning is a wind sail
Upon a sea
Of prayer.

There comes a devotee.
He comes to darken
The red upon the lips
Of his goddess.
A tiny bird,
With its beak in awe of the wide earth, snugly clasped in his hand.

(Gopikrishnan Kottoor’s recent poetry appears in Best Asian Poetry, Yearbook of Indian Poetry, Acumen, Madras Courier, and Converse among others. His recent awards include prizes at the Chandigarh Literary Society, and  Wingword. He runs the online poetry journal www.chipmunk.co.in 
Blog: http:gopikottoor.blogspot.com)