A Money Order to Tamil Nadu

A Money Order to Tamil Nadu

His brain’s barren like
the surface
of the moon – alphabet
could never
grow there. I fill up the
money order
form at his request. Our
tongues are
diverse –doesn’t matter –
necessity fumbles
and finds its way. He’s
one of the
inter-state coolies sweating
for our state.
I decode the signals from
his mind –
he’s soft within a hard shell
like a coconut.
He stares at the strange
words falling
from my nib. He rewards
me with a
smile like a cashew nut.
His ‘thanks’
drops into my mind, and
makes a sweet
ripple. It’s an illiterate, who
truly values letters.

(Tamil Nadu and Kerala are neighboring
states with different mother tongues in India.)