For a little girl with amber eyes whom I will always look for in the beach towns of South India.

***

Jungle movies always bring me back to you, Ansi.
Movies about women who do the best they can.

Thriving brown-skinned women,
Black hair shining red.
She always wears a little too little
To be taken seriously.

But she does the best she can.

Soft curves of an overused body
Swell beyond the bounds of a tattered dress
To entertain onlookers,
And keep the woman alive.

Smiling equatorial sunshine
For the man in the khaki shirt.
Their languages are different,
But they understand each other.

He appreciates her for what she is to him.

Soft curves
Overused body
Sunshine smile

And she does the best she can,
Because she wants to stay alive in the jungle.

My heart goes back to you, Ansi.

Thriving brown-skinned girl,
Black hair shining red.

Smiling equatorial sunshine
For the man with the foreign accent
Who ignores you as he passes by.
You are too young just yet
For him to take notice.

But you will not stay that way.

END