LASAN GARLIC

In a distant country
When you come across a compatriot
You’re thrilled to the bones
Your eyes and your hands reach out to him
And a chain of words is formed

I came on it once, the Punjabi word lasan
written up on a huge billboard
For women farm workers
In a far-flung corner of California
And I felt
My language had welcomed me
Shaken my hands
Embraced me
Wished me good luck
For a moment the taste of the word
Lasan was like
A sugar lump on my tongue

Only words die
As a fish dies out of water
They lose their meanings
And gather new ones
Here the word lasan means—


And very few fish escape the net

LASAN GARLIC