Photograph by Michael Monteleone, (c) 1998

Pantoum for a Nepalese Mother   
	        
        written for a photograph taken on the street in Katmandu
        by Michael Monteleone  

She is a mother, not the Diamond Zombie
Demonic, determined, she clutches the child
Eyebrows arched like wings astride
The red teardrop above her nose

Demonic, determined, she clutches the child
Shiva cheekbones, she glares, eyes wide
The red teardrop above her nose
She presses against her baby, not the god

Shiva cheekbones, she glares, eyes wide
The blur of thieving hands having passed
She presses against her baby, not the god
Hurrying through the marketplace

The blur of thieving hands having passed
Men squat to gamble, stand to trade
Hurrying through the marketplace
She is the only woman in this frame

Men squat to gamble, stand to trade
Behind her a father is fixed in the lens
She is the only woman in this frame
He carries his child on his narrow hip

Behind her a father is fixed in the lens
He looks at me from far, far away
He carries his child on his narrow hip
Whose boy is that in galoshes and shorts?

He looks at me from far, far away
Himalaya, Hindu Kush, K2
Whose boy is that in galoshes and shorts?
Where are the mountains, dry distances?

Himalaya, Hindu Kush, K2
This is not fire and stars on the heights
Where are the mountains, dry distances
In this narrow place where dharma gathers?

This is not fire and stars on the heights
But the gods incarnate themselves
In this narrow place where dharma gathers
Rainy market street in Katmandu

But the gods incarnate themselves
Eyebrows arched like wings 
Rainy market street in Katmandu
She is a mother, not the Diamond Zombie


(c) 1995 Margery Snyder




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