thecreativespace
Yesterday they cut
The pala tree
In the woods near my home
The same that legend
Decreed was the home
Of the yakshi
The denizen of the woods
Of the wilderness
Resident of the tall palm tree
The yakshi
Whose approach causes
The pala tree
To squirm with pleasure
And burst into flowers
Wafting a distinct perfume
Enticing, pervading all senses
Frightening the imaginative,
Thrilling the adventurous
The yakshi
The queen of the night
In whose presence
Nocturnal creatures of the night
Slink away.
The yakshi
Who floats by
In her beautiful aspect,
Young and ravishing
Or in her terrible aspect,
With elongated incisors
Vampire personified.
The yakshi
Who targets men
Luring them to their deaths
Devouring them whole.
The yakshi,
She's the empowered,
The sensual,
The revengeful,
The feared,
The yakshi..
(Dr. Hema Nair R retired as Principal of Mahatma Gandhi College, Thiruvananthapuram. She taught English in NSS College for Women and VTM NSS College, Dhanuvachapuram as well as PRNSS College, Mattanur. She won the Fulbright Visiting Lecturer Fellowship and taught at the University of Wisconsin at Madison USA in Fall 2003-04. She was awarded the UGC Postdoctoral Research Award during 2006 - 09. She has published many research articles in peer-reviewed journals, was Research Guide at the University of Kerala and have produced Ph.ds. She has worked as Associate Editor, Samyukta -- A Journal of Womens' Studies.)