Queen Pleasure On A Hot Day
©July 1st, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
Here are some round, bright grapes
And a soft, cushiony couch,
And an Ottoman for aching legs.
Break off a few grapes, go on,
Have them, and pass me the plate.
Oh, and a glass of ginger lemonade
With cubes of ice tinkling enticingly
Melting rapidly on a hot day
To moisten our throats and
Untangle our tongues.
Get me some slices of spicy
Olive bread (the best kind)
And olive oil and gently spiced zatar,
To dip chunks of bread into.
Oh, and a chunk of spicy Pepper Jack cheese,
And thinly sliced Granny Smith apples.
Yes, and a slice of chocolate ganache cake
Just a thin one will do.
Now, play me some Ellington, or
Coltrane and Hartman, or Billie
With lighter-than-air Lester.
Let’s play some Jelly Roll Morton
Or Bach chorales on our guitars,
While we stumble and grumble
Over the same mistakes we make,
Or giggle over new, interesting ones.
Play me some Mansur and Gajanandrao Joshi,
Or some Amir Khan or Kesarbai or Mogubai,
Play me some Lata or M.S., and let me
Leap into song like a happy porpoise.
Come, sit by my side,
And talk to me about songs
And books, of childhood and child,
And politics, and the weather,
And Climate Change, and science,
And animals and movies.
Later, we shall walk hand in hand
Along the margins of the gleaming
Blue-green Reservoir with her yellow lilies
And leaping fish, and the occasional frog.
The tall trees will bend over us
Like a benediction, and calm
Will descend like a silk scarf
Around our necks.
Walk by my side in silence
And breathe in and out, with
The good trees watching us,
I shall welcome that, too.
This is pleasure, all of it.
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