her famished tongue feasted on dreams
and she catered to its cravings—
green mangoes clay cloying chalk
citrus soap crusty coal raw rice
crushed ice cubes crayons ash
powdered glass pickled garlic
salt sieved rain-scented soil
a son was born, he was fed
and he learnt to feed
soon he was caught eating mud
a son taking after his mother
a son inheriting her tongue
she tied her speechless moon to a millstone
and after some frantic spanking
she saw in his cloudy mouth
the truth of the three worlds—
sand everywhere, everything
turning to sand.
Note: This poem tells the childhood story of the Hindu mythical hero Krishna and his mother Yashoda. As a child, he was fond of eating mud and when he was chastised, he opened his mouth, and within it, she is said to have witnessed the three worlds and the secret of the entire universe. She is said to have taken this as a revelation of his divinity.