Sampurna Chattarji: Mutable

Two foxes ride in tandem

Melon colic
Strange fruit
That blooms to death
On a slide

The foxes are red
A cat stands on the tracks
Behind her
A man walks endlessly
In his body
Die-cut
Against the blaze
Not a single feature visible
Except the self-love
In his shoulders
And feline stride
The cat on the other hand
Can be seen down to the last
Whisker
The light changes
Them
She—man
He—cat
The foxes pedal away
Convinced of their
Invincible
Fox-ness
As they balance the books
On their tails
Talking rapidly into the wind

Behind the mirror the chimney
Down which a giant girl reaches
Her hand
In search of the lizard-shaped fire

Feature-less face
Like
A ship-less mouth

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