Vincent Van Gogh, “Olive Trees with the Alpilles in the Background” (1889) (via Wikimedia Commons)
Bright Lights, Big City
You’d wish you had a-listened
to some of the things I said
—Jimmy Reed
no matter
which cocktails
you consume
in air
-conditioned
nations
we understand
ourselves best
through the fruit
of our homeland
especially one
oft mistaken
for a nut
says a farmer
taking a picture
of me melted
on an islet
eating a kernel
of truth as the
blue ocean
welcomes
a muddy
river with
Sargassum
seaweed
garlands
* * *
Karthik Purushothaman comes from Chennai, India, and taught at William Paterson University and New Jersey City University after earning his MFA. Karthik’s work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and the Best New Poets anthology, and has also appeared in Boulevard, EVENT, Rattle, Subtropics, The Common, The Margins, and Writers Resist: The Anthology 2018. Uniting progressive activists and independent artists, Karthik hosts a live show in Manhattan every month, about which you can learn more by following @arealtalkshow on Instagram.
