Heritage

hanuman

king of demon’s bane
anjana born, this vanara
legends of this monkey of a man
all to put me to sleep as a child.

bandar’s quiet din hosting the protector
always calm, the learned yogi.
never so big to lack humility; never to small to turn away
death evades him, the chiranjivi
akshahantre’s form is simply divine.
resounding the chant, oṁ śrī hanumate namaḥ

ganesha

prancing around the kingdom
india’s stomper of obstacles,
long tusks and trunk flail about
lambodara laughs aloud as he gazes
all his might atop his tiny vahana
i carefully spot mūṣaka
you may find this amusing, this grāma-devatā
rather, the two are more alike than not, the vigneshvaras

kali

please be wary
around kaushiki, for when she’s mad—
raktabija’s blood had never tasted so sweet.
vama kali’s skin so dark, the niguna descends
all Shiva can do is lay,
to cushion the earth from her ghungroos clanging.
i fall asleep, knowing i am hidden from her gaze.