Dashavatara
Chine collee print
5 x 7
2014
Vamana
The Dwarf
Bali, ever the gracious host,
asks me what gifts
I would like – elephants, cows,
palaces, gold.
Only three paces of land,
I answer.
Take more, he says,
maybe a bride, a horse, a chariot?
A wise man takes
no more than he needs, I say.
He shrugs and
grants my wish.
I grow into a giant
who can cover the universe
with three steps.
Bali, seeing I’m the great Vishnu,
gets all his demons together
and slinks off to the
infernal depths as the gods
move back into their rightful space.