Sanyukta Dharmadhikari

She places her bindi in the middle of her forehead
And steps back from the mirror.
Admiring, but not content.
Her sandals go clippity-clop on the marble
...

Our Kamla Bai,
With a pierced nose and a bun
Both held up high
A rose clipped in her hair
...

One such page I’d dog-eared
To listen to your bark
But
Somewhere between remembering you
...

Kalpita sat naked in front of her three foot long dressing table mirror. She ran a hand over her twisted neck and face. Thirteen months ago, hot chemical burnt away her bronze skin leaving behind scars and hospital bills. Now she sat in front of the mirror, looking at herself. The face that the ‘visiting party’ would look at. She slowly wore her clothes, wincing a little when her hand touched her face. It still felt foreign.

***
...

Her hair glistened one last time.
Connected to the skies one last time.
Defined her femininity one last time.
...

1.
Her hair bounced off her shoulders as the flurry of wind met her full in the face. Her eyes flickered, as she stood in her balcony, waiting for him to pass by again.

He waited two blocks away, hesitating to go forward. Will she be standing there yet again, waiting for her unknown person to discover her? He wondered whom she was waiting for. His heart sank as he thought of her hugging a faceless man.
...

I am just a spoon.
On a huge dining table.
Flanked by two big jars,
Each trying to prove to the spoon
...