There is beauty within the universe –
this shadow of the glorious past,
embraced by those who will follow us
though we might never enjoy its pleasure.

The hoe and the rake break our backs
while the wind steals our crop away as dust
and the maidens we married years ago
shrivel in the merciless Sun.

Our children run without shoes
while the cobra awaits — a patient fiend,
for a final misstep to give him an excuse,
and a place to sink his fangs.

Men done with labor throw dice
trading fortunes with chance
and the skilled cheater,
like the cobra, goes unseen.

Then the madam dragonfly arrives,
setting herself upon my sunburned shoulder.
The village rejoices at this sign,
for the monsoon will begin on her wings.

First comes the clouds,
roiling with potential in the distant sky,
we hurry to get the seed in the ground,
even as fat drops of rain begin to fall.

The drum, drum, drum of rain on the tin roof
while my family watches the fields flood
and we hear the monkeys in the trees
bickering in their soggy discomfort.

Lightning strikes tree and man alike,
an actinic fury unrivaled by any human act,
and then comes the thrumming sound
of the cyclone’s ladies-in-waiting — tornado!

How can we hide from something so hungry?
How can we flee along the road-turned-river?
We are spared by the fickle maiden turning –
north she goes to eat the village there.

The sunshine returns and we welcome it,
as if our past loathing never was,
while the leaves cast rainbows
with jewels as pure as a child’s soul.

Flowers grow on the roadside
and find their way into little girls’ hair
while boys tease monkeys
with mangoes on a stick.

Young women watch unmarried men,
returning from soggy fields
with muscles bulging from hard labor
and consider who they will capture.

With the first harvest comes celebration
with dancers as lovely as star-shot flowers
and even the tiger stays away,
as sorrow would bring disgrace.

There is beauty within the universe –
this shadow of the glorious past,
let us embrace what we can find
and save a portion for generations to come.