Your Kamuk Eyes

I am an ancient snake, wood, flute, tongue —
Turned to bronze asp, silent ash, by your eyes.

Tremors of smiles on your lips unsettle me;
For I hear the oceans surge, crash in your eyes.

Dust-storms, forest-fires, tsunamis, apocalypse —
Created, abated by you, my Mahesh, by your eyes.

Hindi poets immortalized lotus-eyed women.
I see their similes life-size, pratyaksh in your eyes!

Sketched in kohl by Goddess Rati,
I see every Kamasutra passion flash in your eyes.

Otherwise wanton like dogs of a red-light district —
How many wag tales of devotion, confess before your eyes?

Who needs hashish, opium, wine, tea to incite angst?
Revolutions arise by an askance, an address of your eyes.

Even they who know quarks and event horizons,
Are perplexed metaphor-less before the abyss: your eyes.

Mist, myth, magic, maya, immortality, motherhood —
I see unfurl … unfold … unwind afresh in your eyes.

For you, Kavi Vivek can forsake wealth, fame, even divinity.
What are these, but trifles for him who can possess your eyes?

Version 2: Here is an alternative to the closing couplet of "Your Kamuck Eyes."

For you, Kavi Vivek can forsake wealth, fame, even divinity.
Bah! These are but trifles for him who can possess your eyes.

Published first in 2012, Issue One of The Ghazal Page