Abha Das Sarma (Diaspora Dual Identities)

Abha Das Sarma

3am in Los Altos hills

 

trimmed silence

of a nightly yard-

shy stillness of pool

and sauna bath.

mother-child deer under apple laden tree,

voices of my neighborhood I fear I bring,

buzzing Nagashetty Halli to Los Altos Hills.

 

water pouring into plastic drums,

washing of clothes on pavements-

hallooing hawkers ‘methi, dhania, neembu’*

pushing green goodness to doors.

stoves in readiness

of chopped onions and beaten eggs,

making of roadside omelets.

 

wind chimes entering the temple bells,

jet-lagged dreams breaking the day-

delightful walks at noon

and pink magnolia warming the heart.

filter coffee among the choices

of medium and large,

a breadth of dark draught.

 

a passage of weekly skypes,

a community raised child

driving home through the garage door.

little times between great moments

of respect and deeds running into a blur.

at the end

the shattered silence closing around us.

 

* In India, hawkers sell fresh greens on carts going from door to door calling out loudly the names of vegetables like *fenugreek, coriander and lemon.

An engineer and management consultant by profession, Abha Das Sarma enjoys writing. Besides having a blog of over 200 poems (http://dassarmafamily.blogspot.com), her poems have appeared in Muddy River Poetry Review, The Ekphrastic Review, Spillwords, Verse-Virtual, Visual Verse, Sparks of Calliope, Trouvaille Review, Silver Birch Press and Blue Heron Review among others. Her poem 'Do Not Go Just Yet' was nominated for Best of the Net 2024. Having spent her growing up years in small towns of northern India, she currently balances her time between Bengaluru and the Bay area.

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Setu, April 2025