Hindu deities adorn adobe walls
While hundred headed Ravanna scorns his foe,
haloed Krishna eyes maidens bathing
Against the painted backdrop of an English garden,
our landlord’s father, in dark jacket and vest,
and a long white shirt that hangs
loosely over ankle tight baggy white pants,
deigns not to see the unkempt Bideshis
lounging on the straw mats and sleeping bags
in the upper floor of his family’s farm house
Utensils, provisions, clothes and books
claim the corners of the room. A window opens
to the west. On the far hills midst sun-setting
shadows, two houses, two doors, two eyes
like cat’s eyes in the dark – the great Buddha’s eyes
out of sight, but still in mind-
I sense I am near the place to return from.
In this lake-born valley of bamboo,
paddy and stone gods rising
from the earth, the world winds change course
from within, carrying us with it,
in currents that bend
unmistaken light from East
to West. These 41 years later that breath
turn, that sure
light… that long wave that lifts us
still carries me on
Photo: Buddha Eyes from Anuradhapura