King Devakonda counseled me: “Go, to the island of Sinhala.”And Koman, the Arab trader, promised: “Ask of me anything you desire.”If fate decrees the journey, then I must go—For there lies an island paradise, rising from the sea. Let us follow the signs spoken by the ancients,Of a land most fertile, praised by Indians of…
They say my lover was found as an infant,abandoned in a forest of roses.Yet even now he runs from the smallest spider,afraid to walk alone when night descends.On the street he moves with girlish airs. My lover—my delicate lover—ah, bastard! my lover. A matchmaker brought him to me,from a village far away,from a family proud…
I am alone, lost in the deep forest.The stranger’s roar shatters the silence—It is fierce, it is terrifying.There is no place to run,No refuge to hide.Where are my others? The colony is not yet formed,Only fear has taken shape.Shadows twist into strange illusions,And the air trembles with a dreadful roar.Am I to be prey, caught…
The sky is thundering,midnight splits with lightning’s crack.I stand beneath a lonely streetlamp,its pale glow spilling over me.As always—this is my place,this is my profession. A stranger comes, his eyes weighing me.He asks the price,I answer plain.He scoffs, says it is too high,and bargains as if my body were cloth in a market stall. I…