Salil Chaturvedi
Peace to All Who Enter Here
Welcome. This is a holy place. Please do not drink liquor & dirty the place. Thank you.
It’s the highest point on the island. Christ the King stands atop a tall platform, facing the direction that brings the rain, his hands raised above his head in a perpetual blessing. Both his thumbs are missing. A Brahminy kite perched on his head surveys the valley below and its chestnut feathers glow almost metallically in the late morning sun. It’s a clear day and you can see out for miles.
selfie with christ—
only one smile
in the frame
The air around Jesus and me is teeming with dragonflies. Blue bee-eaters, the early winter visitors, expertly snatch insects out of the air, trilling with excitement. The spiders have begun their winter weaves and the hillside glimmers with gossamer. I sit in Jesus’ shadow, wondering, doesn’t he ever get tired of this unabated blessing. If only he came down once in a while to sit amongst the butterflies in the October grass. If only he took a moment to talk to the boys who come up the hill in the evening with their beer cans.
camera eye—
a butterfly shows
a hidden trail
About the Author
Salil Chaturvedi writes short fiction and poetry which have been widely anthologised. He lives with his wife in Chorao, an island on the river Mandovi, in Goa, tracking seasonal changes and trying to convert a disused paddy field into a food forest. He is a wheelchair-user and is currently an Access curator at the Serendipity Arts Festival.