When your dholi comes barreling 
across the oceans, 
with his drum beats 
rousing the slate-gray autumn waves 
into a roar 
– dear amma – 
will your heart swell with joy, 
will it rise with the dum-dum, 
dum-dum, 
dum-dum beats; 
will you leap as high 
as the foaming Atlantic waves 
on a blustery autumn eve? 

As the weary sun charts its path 
across the globe, 
on this twilight autumn eve 
–  dear amma – 
will you be coy, 
will you fret, 
or will you undulate 
like a restive, jittery bride? 

As the turmeric glow starts to fade 
and the vermillion ball 
–  in the blink of an eye – 
sinks 
into the ocean, 
do you see your dholi 
– dear amma – 
–  his headdress, does it slay like gold? 
–  his eyes, do they slay like the sea gulls, 
keen on his prize, swooping 
lower, 
lower, 
lower, 
headed for the thrill.  

Oh, I see – 
these autumn chills suit you not 
–  come back, dholi, did you purr? 
beat your bloody dum-dum drums 
when the sun sets north 
on a long, summer day, 
and the warm ocean breeze 
oh, how they sway the purdahs 
of the waves. 
Will the clouds part then, you think, 
– dear amma – 
will you then see 
your appa, your amma? 
Will you jingle your jhumkas, 
caress your flaming Banarasi silk, 
yards and yards, 
take your pick – 
– turmeric, gold, white. 
Will you then desert your palanquin, 
Will you then undulate 
to the dum-dum, 
dum-dum, 
dum-dum beats? 

Do you fear, your dholi, 
will he retreat 
at the touch of your parched, 
crepey skin; 
will he faint 
at the scent of your 
chalky, vermillion breath? 

 As autumn dusk deepens, 
the whooshing waves 
– they settle into a dreary lull, 
heartbeats rise, then fall, 
fall, 
fall, 
– my darling amma – 
your dholi’s here – 
he’s fearsome, he waits not. 
Dusk, dawn, 
appa, amma, 
autumn, fall, 
my dear amma, 
jump, 
bounce, 
slice into the waves, 
let the roar 
drown out the dum-dum 
dum-dum, 
dum-dum beats. 

Leema Thomas, a New York-based journalist, is an immigrant from South India who teleports back and forth between universes – the west and the east, the past and the present – and hopes to capture the flights and fancies of Indian-American experiences through poetry and fiction.