මිත්තණිය

Grandmother 

When the evening star appears

and the oil-lamp is fed with ghee

my grandmother offers silver plates of betel leaves

and arecanut

to the white-tusked God

wrapt in hypnotic spirals of rose incense

chanting esotericism

from a cloth-bound Bhagavad Gita

I can hear her thick golden bangles

jingling to the rhythm of mantras

-Ahila Sambamoorthy

දිනමිණ, වසත් සුළඟ 25.07.2017