States of Poetry - Poems
'Cane Cutter's Bride: Museum of Fiji' by Anita Patel
by Anita Patel •
Suddenly you accost me
with silent sepia eyes –
a sallow smudge of newsprint
hidden among weapons and bones.
You shrink and flutter
like a frightened bird
trapped
in the crimson mesh
of your wedding sari.
I am caught
in your dark gaze
in the tattered trace
of hands and face:
ragged remnants
of a fragile gift
carefully wrapped
and dispatched
with good wishes
to an alien land.
Anita Patel
Published in The Canberra Times, 29 September 2007