The Lady In Saffron – Priyanka Sacheti

A lady in saffron
poles through a drowsed lake:
a man stands still,
counting fish
that dart in and out
of the submerged forest.
If the fish are birds,
where then
are their nests?

A man in a shikara
sells saffron from his village:
he recites their past,
conjures purple blooms
quivering beneath
an acerbic winter sun.
Here, you can taste the sunlight,
he offers,
amber-strands nested
inside his ice-scarred palms.

The oar is a chenar leaf:
depending on its mood,
it lances through or
caresses the water.
In the distance,
a lone chenar tree already
grieving the leaves
it will lose in
a yet unseen autumn.

Priyanka Sacheti is a writer based in Bangalore, India.  Her literary work has appeared in journals such as The Cabinet of Heed, Popshot, The Brown Orient, Barren, Berfrois, and The Lunchticket.  An avid phone-photographer, she explores the intersection of her writing and photography at Instagram: @antalasofallthatisee. She tweets @priyankasacheti.