Girl in a Saree

the tiniest too wears a saree

and earrings, bangles, and anklets

like sisters, aunts, mothers, and grannies

behind palace walls, on roadsides

see her run with the pros

at selling, at nagging  

postcards? pens? ten rupees?

hello? hello?

 why not?  why not?

her brother's spirit freefalling

 toward bottomless hope

my heart frozen in April 

heat

he taps at the window

behind which i'm taking refuge

in the air-conditioned bus

at yonder is a majestic fort

grander than the Grand Canyon

greater than the Great Wall

as anonymous as its people

now gather in finale

looking at us looking at them

in clearly divided worlds

waving at us waving at them

until the next load comes

she is back to playing in the dirt

her anklets jingle the air

will the saree wear her out?