Tell Her to Come Home

And so we
Just walked in
In red white and green
Half-naked and bare feet

I keep looking over
Feeling her smile,
Yielding my shoulder
For her unseen hand
To brush away
An unseen speckle

Someone said
“I know you were fond of her,”
And cluck clucked their sympathies

I smiled at my own hand
My eyes remembered
Her strong forearm
Her soft skin
Her bruised eyes

“My boy,” she had said to others
“My friend,” she had said to me
Now I say, “Amma,”
But she won’t speak to me

Can I show you her picture?
Can I tell you how she looks?
Would you look for her for me?

Tell her Jaya is calling for her
Tell her someone is asking for food
Tell her Suvarna is looking for her

Tell her, her children
Just walked in
In red white and green
Half-naked and bare feet

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