The Dance of Shiva

The Dance of India
Yong Wan Choi 11.10.09

Beneath a radiant sky
a single butterfly borne on the sea wind

Crossing the sea lane to Elephanta Island
flapping two wings fragrant with history
where are you going

In poor villages forsaken by the gods
ownerless cows lie blocking people's way
puppies, only bone and marrow left, breathe the dust
souls vanish into the smoke on the riverbank
long, long legends flow out to the sea

Where the rich live atop the poor,
the waters of the Ganges—drunk, bathed in, washed in,
bearing even the dead afloat—
reach the white clouds after a lifetime of penance

Ringed with lit flames, with eight arms
the dance of Shiva draws the sky upward