Indiranagar, 2300, 07/30


Ananya Venkateswaran


the Big Men,

emboldened by

cheap pale ale and

sundown and

the cricket bats they pretend to know how to wield

clang pots and pans and billhooks. they are

Big men, strong as the names on the

flimsy cricket jerseys they flaunt and

strong as the rounds that shoot their eyes bloody and

strong as the bruises ‘round wives’ quivering eyes. they are big

men, and grandfathers and girls alike look down when they pass and close their windows and their eyes and burrow down in their blankets, ignoring big men,

marching in drunken, teary circles around

a dusty temple with offerings

no god wants.