Anju Makhija


An Order for a New Head

Small please, grey and white cells, pink too
(with bits and bytes).
Make the numbers even, enough odd ones.
Mould the skull with RDX plastique, the stick-fast variety.
Set the teeth firmly, rattling disturbs infants.
Keep the tonsils, I like to trap irritants for happy days.
One ear is plenty, bomb blasts are deafening in stereo.
Make the nostrils narrow, like a bone marrow;
air enough to live.

Now the main request: give me a third eye
(like the one on the truck).
A bright red light between two headlights
Peering through the throat of a village road.

That's all.

Brandy, I and the third eye. In the moonlight…
coconut trees, omnipresent Gods; two Gods too many.
Papayas, pulpy breasts; squeeze them dry.
Falling twigs, a shower of snakes;
swallowing them, I emerge Medusa!

Shedding my skin, I recoil in the armchair,
lost to the world.

Get the picture?
I'm Lao-Tzu smiling at Mona Lisa.
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