Village Muse (June 20, 2009. Issue 6.)

Nobody ever saw her again,
Covered in gold chains, diamonds flickering
On her ears, she ran past me
In a bright red sari as
I dozed away on another windy day.
They said the paws of white tiger
Had slit her into nuggets,
Some said she killed herself
Diving into the guts of the village well,
Some averred she was swallowed by
Quicksand along Devi's temple,
A few insisted king cobra was
Resting somewhere balled with her remains,
But nobody talked about her leaving
The confines, their little village, 
Their only known world,
For them, if there was anything outside
Of those sweeps of palm trees, outside
Of massive spans of mud and insects,
It was death.
But I know where she went,
I could see her from where I am,
From where I've been growing
Tall and tallest for decades
As an unimportant Oak tree.