Monsoon

by Sarath Reddy

My childhood dissolved like salt into water
monsoon blending sky and earth, falling
steadily, drenching thatched roofs,
quenching the parched leaves of guava trees.
I stared into a deep well where cattle grazed,
uncertain if there was water at the base,
tossed a pebble. Years later still
hear the splash
of water steamed for my morning bath,
crackle of splintered wood burning,
the jute cot where I napped
next to grandfather as he fanned me
with yesterday’s news- bleeding ink and politics
now a blurry voice swimming
somewhere deep in my memory sea.

Sarath Reddy’s poetry explores the world beneath the superficial layers of experience, searching for deeper meaning in his experiences as an Indian-American, as a physician, and as a father. Sarath’s poetry is forthcoming or has appeared in JAMA, Off the Coast, Another Chicago Magazine, Poetry East, Hunger Mountain, and Cold Mountain Review.

Donald Patten is an artist from Belfast, Maine. He is currently a senior in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the University of Maine. As an artist, he produces oil paintings and graphic novels. His art have been exhibited in galleries and sold in art markets across the Mid-Coast region of Maine.