Classical Indian Explanation:Music

past the hippies

past Ravi Shankar

eons before

when the first Asian snake

came alive

stiffened with sound

through some empty shell

some hollow wood

some emptiness

the snake

was not so much charmed

as listening intently

to the accidental flute

to that which he knew

must be female

its empty insides

calling him

with breath music

and he joined in

for awhile

finding a rang of sounds

he’d never heard

then peace

and a new religion

practiced in places

where snakes are holy

and music

is written in his tongue

Belinda Subraman