Simpler places

 

Come, let’s go back to places where festivals

came simpler – without the show and dazzle

the autumn nights bright with a thousand stars

smoke curling from a bushfire somewhere far

the tunes of a cowherd yanking hearts awry

the earth the goddess.  her canopy the sky

 

where the river bent to preen in its reed fringe

the sacred hours were marked by the dove and finch

the acacia shadows laid in filigrees

reptile tracks echoed the signs of rice paddies

quieter joys flared in the pulse of the firefly

the earth the goddess her canopy the sky.

Happy Diwali and/or Happy Halloween to you, whichever you'll be marking.