Night

Dusk settles thickly over the trees

leaf green to dark green

flushing away the last vestiges of daylight,

the intermittent tinkling of anklets

and the chanting of the evening prayers.

Darkness creeps in; engulfing it all..

They moor their little boats to the riverbanks

as a pair of bright yellow eyes silently observes from beyond

padding, stalking, plotting its next move...

Purring, whirring and rustling

an entire world comes to life

breathing with a steady drone of cicadas and nightjars

The aroma of nightqueen and wet mud mingles;

a smell like no other.

Blazing torches and an acrid smell of smoke

and a shower of charred honeybees falls to the ground

like leaves in autumn; melting wax drips like tears.

A shrine to the striped god lays forgotten beneath a banyan tree;

smeared with vermillion

while their striped god kidnaps children

and lays their mutilated bodies

forgotten beneath a bush, smeared with blood.

Responding to a rasp with a roar; it's like a heartbeat

Purring, whirring and rustling

an entire world comes to life..