Dashavatara
Chine collee print
5 x 7
2014
Kurma
The Turtle
I carry a mountain on my back
and settle on the soft ocean bed;
a giant serpent winds around the peak.
Gods wrestle with the tail
and churn the milky waters.
Demons grab the head of the serpent,
thinking they’ll stop the gods,
but the snake’s fiery breath
scorches them.
Holy men toss magic herbs
into the waves,making nectar
to fill the gods’ throats and
return them to supremacy.
Lakshmi rises on a blue lotus,
raises her silken arms in praise,
and swims to me as I return to land.