Ash Purgatory
high above the fumes
in the membranes of the stratosphere
evening thickens into night.
in the snow globe of ash below
through the rat-a-tat of guns
shadows flounder in ravines of fire.
you have heard them wailing -
legions of preying spirits
wire of voices spooling.
now you know why I watch
through the slats with shell-shocked eyes
for at twilight they come back,
caught in the purgatory
of carbon cumulonimbus
to be flayed without mercy again.
Oormila Vijaykrishnan Prahlad
Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad is a Sydney based
artist, poet, and pianist. She holds a Masters in English. Oormila has
exhibited her art and accompanying poetry in Kuwait, India, Singapore, and
Australia. She is a member of Sydney’s North Shore Poetry Project and Authora
Australis. Her recent works have been published in Red Eft Review, Glass
Poetry Journal’s Poets Resist, Eunoia Review, Underwood Press’ Rue Scribe, The
Maier Museum of Art’s Journal of Ekphrastic, Plum Tree Tavern and The
Rye Whiskey Review. She has poems forthcoming in the Rat’s Ass Review.
Oormila regularly performs her poetry and exhibits her art at shows in Sydney.
Tags:
Poetry