A Lost Doll
By Kulkarni Venugopal
A doll lies
at the side of a busy road
rotting.
Inflicted with
the forgotten fever
of giddy surety,
the seams unravel.
Naked, it bleeds
manufactured cotton,
once nurtured by the wrinkled hands
of children.
The cold, viscid embrace
of dark dirt, instead of
the promised, pampered skin,
the colour fades,
and the magic is
lost