Banyan
by Sudeep Sen
As winter secrets
melt
melt
with the purple
sun,
sun,
what is revealed
is electric —
is electric —
notes tune
unknown scales,
unknown scales,
syntax alters
tongues,
tongues,
terracotta melts
white,
white,
banyan ribbons
into armatures
into armatures
as branch-roots
twist, meeting
twist, meeting
soil in a circle.
Circuits
Circuits
glazed
under cloth
under cloth
carry
alphabets
alphabets
for a calligrapher’s
nib
nib
italicised
in invisible ink,
in invisible ink,
letters never
posted,
posted,
cartographer’s
map, uncharted —
map, uncharted —
as phrases fold
so do veils.
so do veils.