"How to Ruin My Language"
by
Kavita S. Hatwalkar

How to Ruin My Language

align your chakras
accumulate your karma
listen to pundits
chant important mantras

force my words into
your myopic mind
disassemble and
transform into English

obey your guru
participate in tantra
watch Dharma & Greg
worship Buddha’s belly

concentrate on
mispronouncing and
contorting previously
used definitions

read the Kama Sutra
listen to Nirvana
eat tandoori chicken
write a good kavita

ablute my words
with American saliva
and spit them out
into your false Ganges