Devi
Kanha!
Milking the cows was devotion to you
The Milk my Naivedyam
for my ever hungry Lord
The clank of pails and my anklets
rang for You like temple bells
The songs I sang as I churned butter
are my Veda and Shlokas and Manthras
My eyes searching forest paths for you
Was my Aarathi to you
Your flute song was invitation enough
For me, as I run to You in haste
Feeling what
only a woman in love
With Divinity understands
My husband Ayyanaar sees that
I no longer go to the temple
At dawn; I am too tired for anything
other than humming tunelessly
under my breath
Our cows give the thickest milk
Our lands the richest pastures
Our butter never goes rancid
Our well water is the sweetest
Even in high summer
This is what it means
To be married to love
Although I no longer rush to the Devi temple
At dawn, as I used to
Instead She seeks me out at night
She, the Devi understands me the most
She has many forms and this is the one
She appears in, for me