Wood building and holy ghost
St. Michael’s Church, Mahim, Mumbai.
Even the ribbon of outward noise
only encircles in a shadow
waning like foam on the windows.
Before bells or psalm, a praise for
birds and boats alighting on
the harbour. A mourning pyre set
ablaze. What irrevocable grief in
your heart do you arrive to
quench hither? Evergreens flare
into springtime. The radiance of day
fleets again. Trees, camellias,
ghost, and sounds of flying geese
in shallow waters. A ghost walks on
the linoleum floors. Architecture
of blue hands, what echo passes
betwixt fog and sea? Palette of
quietude. A chanting memorial.
Surrender your austere while
passing through succulents, doorway
to this shrine. The carnations,
candle, and chant will eventually
frame into fragments of silence. Cold
fires calming in rain. Ghost retina.
A violet stream of dawning clouds.
Sneha Subramanian Kanta is a writer from the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. She is the recipient of the inaugural Vijay Nambisan Fellowship 2019. Her chapbook Ghost Tracks is available to order from Louisiana Literature Press. She is the founding editor of Parentheses Journal. More: snehasubramaniankanta.com