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Sujatha Menon
JASMINE
Yin and yang
yang and yin
ylang-ylang smells like jasmine.
Jasmine is condensed milk
of the moon that sleeps
all day in the sea,
turning and churning
white morning waters
in lacto-galactic bloom.
Yang and yin
yin and yang
ylang-ylang smells like jasmine,
that flakes from a star
or a cold lunar scar,
hung high by hot hands
in stale garlands of light;
above bananas and gourds
okra and cloves,
like a pearl-powered jubilee.
Yin and ylang
ylang and yin
are the
top notes
heart notes
base notes
of a song
I dreamt into a flower.
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*First published in The Cannon's Mouth, Nov 2021.
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