Anjana Basu
The Last Rock
The last rock was where the lizard vanished.
Its tail the colour of the sand flickered once like a ghost whip over the
bed of stones.
And then gone.
The lizard and stones mark this place visited twice every year by the
south wind.
Once in spring and again in autumn it stirs the sand with hope.
Bringing with it the silken feel of summer places.
The village girls put aside their veils
when they hear its song amongst the rocks only to find it gone.
Like the lizard it swims over sand and under rocks skimming the old
gold stones.
Unlike the lizard it leaves a trail.
Spices and the promise of summer.
The promise that somewhere something
remembers a place that everyone else forgot.
The stones know a secret – the wind whispers it to them twice a year.
Page(s) 152
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