She lays wasted between retaining walls of concrete
diverted one too many times to retain her origins,
left to dry in the interstices of collective memory
owners of which dress her daily,
one new accessory of human consumption

// crack

she who broke free from ಅಗಸ್ತ್ಯ ಮುನಿ’s kamandala
ಕಾವೇರಿ is now trapped by human ಅಭ್ಯಾಸ, ಸ್ವಭಾವ
how does one discard disregard,
when she can’t anymore disregard discard?
how do you curtail the currents of consumerism?

// crack

she escapes the water cured walls
with help from the clairvoyant skies
ವಿಷಭಾವತಿ, a river no more
she’s transfigured into annals of human greed
flowing recklessly into homes that buried her

~ Namrata Narendra