Gokarna Market Road

From a two-hundred-year-old Shiva temple,

turn left.

The market road in Gokarna

has two castes,

the worshipper and the curious.

On a half pink wall, sits

a yellow snake,

below which, is a border in Kanchipuram red.

In the Narayana temple on the left,

sits a sadhu,

his ochre robes a contrast

to the lavender from the jacaranda tree —

bending down, touching feet.

Confused, I bow,

do a namaste.

The sadhu raises a hand —

his smile setting on fire,

the dry leaves of fall.

The pujari at the door,

sears a red bindi on my forehead —

religion claims me,

like sudden water on dry earth.