i.
Mist covered trees: otherworldly, mysterious
then clear bright sunshine exposes lush greenery
tea bushes dotted by pluckers in colourful saris,
headscarves, even frosted nail polish.
Riding along the edge of the endless road alongside
this crest of the fabled mountains, a woman sits,
her back to us, staring outward into the majestic
Indian mountains. I wonder, how did she get there?
ii.
Riding in a car a week later, I’m prodded awake
from a heat-and-humidity nap. “Look!” A turbaned
shoeless man, clothes tattered, grey, sits alongside
of the road next to his grey elephant, both sleeping.
iii.
We continue only to be stopped; a huge truck clings
to the mountain on our left, cliff edge, on our right
workers, oblivious, carry rocks on their heads (women),
pails of hot tar (men), all barefoot, helping road repair.
iv.
We end the day at an engagement party, invited to drink
Fanta, eat samosas, dance. They’re surprised I follow them
easily; I feign genius, fail to mention the steps are like
the hora, practiced since childhood on every day of joy.
Diana Rosen is the author of the hybrid, “High Stakes & Expectations” of poems and flash published by thetinypublisher.com Her work appears in journals in the U.K., Australia, Canada, India and the U.K. To read more of her work, please visit and subscribe for free at authory.com/dianarosen