Aftermath of a Departure by Vidya Panicker When

Aftermath of a Departure by Vidya Panicker When you left, you took with youmy wardrobe That, and the kitchen, and the vegetable gardenand the Gods in the room Yesterday, I tripped on my sareeand ripped the edges of it. The 6 folds of clothtucked on my abdomen beneath the underskirtcame off and I stuffed it back in a hurry,making it bulge out the rest of the dayTie the skirt tight, tighter, I heard you say I tried frying okras the way you didIt left a burning taste in my mouth, the tastethat reminded me of the year we went to Ootyand had corn cob roasted on hot coalYou squeezed lemon on it to remove the bitterness of cinders,a trick that might or might not work on my okras I still take bath first thing in the morning,but the Gods are always awake before meI light the match stickand extend my hands to the wick soaked in sesame oil,The fan is turned off, the windows closed,and I take care not to breatheyet, somewhere on the way, the flame dies And then there are the dents, two of  themon our plush sofa. One where you sat, peeling potatoes,watching mega-serials of bad women scheming against good ones,and the other where I did, fiddling with my laptopNow I sit on the hump between the two dentshoping that eventually the gaps would fill #Poetry #PranishaShrestha #VidyaPanicker #TheAliporePost