Joanna George
From the 28th day –
from the red circled date in my calendar,
I start my wait –
my count with much devotion and worship,
what more ?
Fasting on papayas and pineapples,
seasoned with sesame seeds and jaggery powder.
I keep waiting for this hunger to end,
for my periods to arrive.
With this bloody monsoons delayed,
Skipping several months as if they were inauspicious,
I almost feel shifting to a barren desert, and then
on a random day after another 30 more days
when I’m about to leap from the verge of my hope
like a prodigal daughter, unexpectedly she arrives
staining my fresh panty,
painting it RED, covering in spots and clots of red diamonds
inflicting pain in regions that once held pleasure.
Joanna George (She/Her) writes from Pondicherry, India. Her poems appear or are forthcoming in Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, West Trestle Review, Lumiere Review, Honey Literary, Literary Shanghai, Mookychick and others. She tweets at j_leaseofhope.