By Linda Ashok

We are done weighing-
A kilo of pomegranate and guavas
Potatoes discounted at INR 28 a kilo
Sprigs of lotuses, 250 grams of masoor,
chillies and that’s it.

After my grandpa’s demise, my mother
Was worried if fish will ever become a part
of our meal again. His pension was the only
source for such delight.

But my job in Bank of America
reunited her with shoals of many; the prettiest
are the bonniest, we call them Hilsa and morola.

Look here she talks about meat
of higher animals! She has picked up
some recipe from Travel and Living
and wishes to try a different meat; oh she is a Hindu
at heart, beef is not what you should think

I fathom a tomato on the oven
Excruciating juice oozing from the burns
When you marinate in it, soft loaves of flesh
the risqué humour on the butcher’s eyes

Oh, we must look out for a suitable meat; avoid
the ones with terror in the neck and pits of limbs

Bhaiya, show me the ones
Without goose bumps, butchered unaware

Linda Ashok is the Founder/President of RædLeafPoetry-India (rlpoetry.org). She identifies herself as a pro-Tibetan and currently working on her second poetry manuscript. She tweets @thebluelimit