Friday, June 6, 2014

Walking down a street


Walking down a street,
a simple walk, unencumbered,
I am assailed, afflicted
tempted by the idols,
idols with jeweled eyes,
enveloped in smoky incense,
pungent, swirling around
their stone feet, attended
by their servants offering
bodies for a small fee,
a contribution to the gods.
The music moves among
them, drowning the cries
of those cooked in oil,
those who turn their heads
from the gods, the incense,
the servants, the music,
the hearts scalded and
seared.


Photograph by Peter Griffin via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission. 

2 comments:

Planes, Trains, Roads | Charity Craig said...

Glynn - This is so specific, and yet I don't know where it is. I think that's the point. It could just as easily be my hometown as an exotic Buddhist village. The jewels, the smoke, the bodies offered, the hearts scalded.

Anonymous said...

sounds like mardi gras