The Ruins of Lepakshi
Suchita Senthil Kumar
A city that once stood proud
now lay fallen at the feet
of forgotten gods, half carved
and untouched by the chisel.
A worker is somehow always
a thief. And the accusing
are men in golden turbans.
Such is the law, a king abides to.
The architect tears his eyeballs
and hurls it across the wall—
truth must prove itself
in stains engraved in stone.
The tour guide says the temple
is left unfinished to honour him.
Torn eyes to venerate his craft—
who honours whom?
Note: It is believed that the architect of the Lepakshi temple was falsely accused of misusing royal treasury by jealous ministers. Upon hearing this, the king ordered his arrest. The architect considered this an insult to his art and in anger, tore his eyeballs and flung it across the temple walls before the soldiers could reach him. The blood stains, scientifically proven to be that of a human, remain on the wall. A part of the temple remains half-built to this day to honour his craft and because no one had the courage to complete what he had begun.
Suchita Senthil Kumar is a poet from Bengaluru, India. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Live Wire India, Corvid Queen, Honey Literary and Aster Lit among others. She makes life decisions asking herself one question: Will Sirius Black be proud?
