Seasonal Fantasies at Kasar Devi Temple

I am lost in her aging cavities of desire—
donut-shaped, fragrant suns blossom in my flesh.
I see D. H. Lawrence singing “every grain of sand.”
Suddenly the quartz cave collapses.
A cholera outbreak—sorrow bleeds
like rotten plums in packed suitcases of exiles.
Hyenas and foxes
stroke each other with violin strings.
Horses scream for their daily meal—
I lick the wounds of my starving father,
handcuffed and shivering.
A monk meditates under a solitary bulb.
I kiss her again—inhale the bitterness of her lips;
a lingering fantasy of sin,
as we learn a new grammar of submission.
Is the world a fake geography,
larger than my pharmacy shop in the basement?
Tired of dazzling, curfewed nights,
I slowly return to the steps of Kasar Devi,
and find cranes practising the weather forecast.

Kasar Devi Temple in Almora (Uttarakhand) is known for its rare geomagnetic field and its appeal to seekers like Swami Vivekananda and D. H. Lawrence.