Roopa Pandit

Sushi Woman

Sushi woman is lovely

She caresses her tail

Minces it in disk-shaped slices

Delicious! She plops a piece in her mouth

Chomps on it vigorously

Her scarlet hair flows like

Silken blood down the subtle

Hills of her chest

Tasty sashimi

Sushi woman looks in the mirror

And it shows her reflections of true love

Her mother nursing her

The teal eyes glimmering 

A beam of light piercing through

Foamy pulp of the sea above

A father patting a baby's stomach

It makes gentle potching noises

A sister rattling her toy of shells in front of her

Years later

And a nervous boy with slender wrists

And a wiry frame gently caressing her hair

Sushi girl speaks fluent Japanese

Watches Totoro

Great pet

Big boy

Gargantuan

Sushi girl braids her hair and lets it

Float in the lapis lazuli waters

In whichever direction

The current sways

Sushi girl

Dons a masquerade mask

With gilled sequins

Plays harp on the legs of jellyfish

And rubs her back in a bed of black pearls

Sushi girl

Ever wary of wondering where

The tides will roll in the

Damp blue night