Ka?*
Did I see her face flash? Or a tiger burning bright?
What really lurked at the edge of sight?
O unnameable horror
mirage of woman, mirage of a tiger
why did I pursue you into this wilderness?
If it was to live I’ve found the ache of death.
And in it something thrashing about—to resurrect
I am a frame which has lost its painting.
I shut my eyes for it haunts my eyes.
I collapse on knees and embrace thundering skies.
The grass whirls in a great emptiness.
The evening breeze cuts through my abdomen
like a blade.
* Ka is an interrogative pronoun in Sanskrit which stands for both "who" and "what". It is also the name of The Unknown God to whom Hymn 121 of the 10th Mandala of Rig Veda is addressed.
