Gathering
South Asia Through Our Eyes
For Maggie
Mary
Ann Sullivan
Of
water won and wonder woo
And
water lost and arbor under
Sat
and yellow pink and yellow
seat and granite bench and there
we sat
Ever
long the last and last
Walks
and through and arch and long
The
arms and robes of Muslims
forward
walk and
Wind
and blown
We
talked
And
sat and yellow pink and yellow
seat and granite bench and there
we sat
the
scarfs of Pakistani men were long
and on the shoulder down
and robes of Islam longer
the
women Pakistani soft
and gentle tender
south and south of Asia
south
for once and first Kashmiris known
and
gather motion gather words
through eye and eye and
pulled
in mind and held
in
mind like camera
‘neath
an arbor
with
gathered under
pink and pink and yellow
share and share
and
rides and car and parked on brick
for mom, and mum, and mom
and green
Gathering south Asia through our eyes
Gathering pink and pink and pink
with
dearest, dearest pink.
And
sprinkling down south Asia
piece and piece and gently falling
Piece
of dearest pink and pink and yellow
***
Mary
Ann Sullivan is a Doctor of Arts student at Franklin Pierce
University in New Hampshire. Her first novel, Child of War,
set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was named a Notable Book in
Social Studies and favorably reviewed in the New York Times.
©
Mary Ann Sullivan