Outcrop

On this day of dwindling
             rest below chatter of wild parrots
             as sky thickens:
             all is calm, but
             can't relax.

Up the gulch, did rest my hand
             upon matted haunch
             of dying dog.
             Tried to pray
             until boy monk brought the
             owner, who
             brought a rope:
             beyond my capacity.

Found a village down the gulch,
             but feared to enter,
                          for the dogs,
             so I snuck along the rocks
                          slippering brown needles.


Came to India for this.
             But it's draining out
             my finger gaps,
             like clensing amrita
                          spilling onto
                          polished emerald marble.