by Carl Kutsmode
The Walk
In another version of his life
he has not travelled beyond a mile.
The river plies fresh loads of algae
empties the hill at his feet where the ferns
dry their hoary limbs.
He fits the odds of his life in a bag
walks along the spent river
that cradles the kingfisher in a shard of light.
The villagers troop along the cracked bund
see his back diminish to a pinpoint.
The fish floats belly up
the venom stains the reeds a shade of purple
flows down the throat of the crown flower
to the small of his back when he kneels
as if the body is built to fold up.
They bring him wrapped, calf muscles buckled
from what the human body is not meant to do –
walk three hundred miles, drop like a yellowed leaf
to be rested under the cassia tree in full bloom
just a mile from home.
Uma Gowrishankar is a writer and artist from Chennai, South India. Her poems and fiction have appeared in print and online journals that include City: A Journal of South Asian Literature, Qarrtsiluni, Vayavya, Buddhist Poetry Review, Silver Birch Press, Curio Poetry, and Pure Slush. Her full-length collection of poetry Birthing History was published by Leaky Boot Press.
Carl Kutsmode is not a professional or Juried artist. He is a serial entrepreneur in the recruiting and management consulting industry. Following 9/11, he realized that something major was missing in his life – a CREATIVE outlet – which he soon found in art and photography. Carl maintains a consistent theme in his art, one of differentiation, transformation and forward movement.