Summer Treats

Men and women
dipped in hunger
old bodies
washed and cleaned
of attachments
little children fresh
like sliced mango pieces
peeled and marinated
in exhaustion
change shapes,
colour, and feel
in the April sun,
as we prepare
summer treats
drying them out in the open
on big concrete sheets
on the narrow lanes
of the footpaths
where time circles above them
like an opportunistic hunter
and steals a piece or two
half tender, half dry
crushes in its jaws
to check 
the taste, the texture.
She remembers mother
drying the oranges,
aamlas, methi, guwar,
ginger on the terrace
and hunts in vain for
her worn-out muslin sari
in the wardrobe
the one that had kept
the crows away
one to cover
the summer treats!