A lament flickers the evening lamp

For nine nights
the Goddess carves herself
in beige and jewels
draped in silk and strapped
with silver- foiled cardboard weapons

‘I am a mannequin’
she says
tongue tied with paper flowers

Her geometry does not rest
on mythology and offerings

The revolving disco lights
decorate her avatars
in turmeric and vermilion
bleeding down
her pleats

I fear for her safety pins.

By Akila Gopalakrishnan