Riflesong of a Dalit Comrade

You look at me & see only

the nightmilk of the barrel

before you saw kami

anvil beating the iron into sickle

you saw you shall not come near me

even dogs are allowed inside

now you slaughter your fat goat

serve me basmati & dahl at the hearth

our home is your home

you say without meeting my eye

your mouth scythed

into a smile with hunger

I shine my rifle until it holds my face whole

the steel comma curled around my finger

a flash: a star: a pomegranate blossom

I have squeezed nothing

so tender

it outcasts my caste

bolt-action

look me in the eye

stop trying to kiss my blood-burnished boots

dalit with a rifle is a god

untouchable

behold my arm of fire

my only good arm

I sleep in its dark housing

with its muzzle I touch your throat