Nose Ring My friend has a fetish for nose rings Strangely, The pierced nose of his girl friend reminds him of mother: Her silk wedding saree with circular prints, its cockroach licks and holes concealed between its folds in an old trunk that opens itself only to her in their solitudes It reminds him of the old, lovable grandmas in the Brahmin street: the prayers that escape from their circular lips in front of flickering lamps, the loops in their silvery hair smiling like the burning wick out of its own hope. On the benches of small, dark gardens he holds her close and touches the ring gently to feel soused by the shadows in that deep school well which never dries up from fantasies On nights when the angels and demons sing from the branches of distant trees, he sits in his verandah and watches the half face of moon, for long. Aditya Shankar If you have anything to say about this poem, Aditya Shankar would like to hear it.