by Tony Schanuel
Crystal
She looks at her husband standing by the thicket
searching for space among the trees to place his grief.
Pointing to the phone, she says, I am this—
the impressionless screen, devastation of the body,
a pointless play. He wants to stop her from leaving.
The light is amber on the crystals she rolls in her palm:
one from the spatika malai belonging to her mother,
at home cooking upma, carefully picking spears of chillies
from searing her daughter’s throat—the fire in the belly
erupting ulcers in the mouth, the tongue a bell of agony.
Uma Gowrishankar is a writer and artist from Chennai, South India. Her poems have appeared in online and print journals, including the Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English, Poetry at Sangam, City: A Journal of South Asian Literature, Qarrtsiluni, Vayavya, Buddhist Poetry Review, and Silver Birch Press. Her full-length poetry collection, Birthing History, was published in 2017 by Leaky Boot Press. Her poetry e-chapbook, The Principle of a Clearing Nut Tree, was published in October 2024 by Yavanika Press.
Tony Schanuel is an award-winning photographer and visual artist who has fused a professional background in photography, digital technology, painting and mark making to create fine art that transcends those mediums. His work has been featured in Digital Imaging Magazine, Computer Graphic Magazine, Wild Heart Journal, St. Louis Design Magazine, and is a featured artist in Cyber Palette and Extreme Graphics, two books showcasing digital artists and their work. He has exhibited at the Florence Biennale and his art is held in private and corporate collections including the Fine Arts Museum of Houston permanent photographic collection. http://www.schanuelphoto.com.