Vismai Rao | Ekphrasis with an introduction to doublespeak | Poets Resist

Vismai Rao’s poems appear or are forthcoming in the Indianapolis Review, RHINO, Salamander, Rust+Moth, Parentheses Journal, Burning House Press, & The Shore. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and the Orison Anthology. She lives in India.

Vismai Rao on Twitter.

Also by Vismai Rao: Pursuits Lightness Shopping for Exit Holes

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Poets Resist
Edited by Alicia Cole
March 18, 2020

Vismai Rao

Ekphrasis with an introduction to doublespeak

After a photograph by Danish Siddiqui for Reuters, Delhi, 24th Feb 2020

In yoga we call it the Child Pose. Knees pressed close to the chest, head slung in the crevice between — Something fetal about the curve of the spine perhaps that gives the pose its name. How it gently stretches the back, relaxes muscles in the torso — The man in this photograph is in Child Pose. Not to strengthen spine, or de-stress the tense muscles. Nor to slide into the distant promise of serenity or balance imbalances of mind — His white shirt is splotched red. Same as the front of his skull. In this photograph eighteen men surround him. There are sticks. Helmets. Faces hidden. The man in this photograph is in Child Pose though this is no place for Yoga poses. A piece of broken road holds his palms. Smoke clouds in the distance. Raised arms block the sky. This is not the floor of a studio. No instructor whispers here, guiding a body to recall the child it once was — That fetal warmth — In this photograph, something’s off — This is not home. This looks nothing like a womb.