Jasmine Mornings

Have you ever held a malli?

The fragrance lingers as though

It has found kinship with the lines of the palm

 

Bringing back the early mornings of

Rustling Kanjeevarams and the silken rush

Of a “south indian” wedding

 

Always at daybreak, or so it seemed

To my sleepily cousin’d eyes

Jasmines everywhere, part of the

Gladness of bonhomie

 

Spilling their memories today

Like so many jasmines

Into my hand