For those who love the earth
The yam is a surprise–
Versatile starch and tuber.
A treasure beyond the red soil,
The soul of earth
Buried deep within
Folds of mud and silt
Clinging to her with a million fibrous nerves
Feeding on water and the remnants
Of other lives—a life beyond
Our little selves.
The coils of wonder
That uncurl over slow time.
A brown and red surprise.
The yam is solid ripple
Gushing from the other side of reality—
Live to touch and taste.
It occurs on the borderlands
Where sky and rain mix with the sun’s life.
Hiding, unrevealing.
Elegant when it sends forth its shoots upward.
Standing tall as if to reunite with the light.
Forever buried in dark, till it breaks free
And splits to revel in red softness of its afterlife.
Author: Murali Sivaramakrishnan // smurals@gmail.com
