The Stork Sees Poem by umashankar manthravadi

the stork sees
reflections of its eye
in the water
broken by the waves
like so many fishes

but the other eye it knows
when it sees a real fish

do not listen to the noises
of reflections
the voices in the next room
the indistinct conversations

you are alone
and the eyes, the ears
make nervous gestures
to the demands of an imagination
fill a dusty room with people

one day there'll be a
real herd of buffaloes
grazing at the window
but you have no way of knowing

October 7,1976