By Vatsala Radhakeesoon
On a faraway island, all blue and green, loosely tied to the colossal continents, there lived an artist. Her name was Ri-Ri and in her pink pearls’ cave, she hid a pair of brushes; She often called them “peculiar” but to the inhabitants they were just twin fan brushes glued together. One night, three brown bats lazing on the litchi trees started to make fun of the painting tools; They called them “ugly”, “grotesque”, “useless” and threw half-eaten fruits on Ri-Ri’s windowsill. The moon frowned, The stars were startled, Thunder tore the clouds, The bats fidgeted on fragile branches. Swirls of silvery, golden and turquoise light sparkled around, The fan brushes gracefully performed the circular dance, They transformed into soft plumage of all white, and a confident beak all yellow; A pair of feet sang History to the night. Amidst Ri-Ri’s garden, stood a Dodo relishing the summer of its native land, Ri-Ri hugged it and in her local language whispered to the bats, “Samem mo ti sekre.”* * Samem mo ti sekre (from Mauritian Kreol ) – That’s my little secret.
Vatsala Radhakeesoon is an author/poet and artist from Mauritius. She has had numerous poetry books published and she is currently working on her flash fiction/short stories book. She considers poetry as her first love and visual art as a healer in all circumstances. Vatsala Radhakeesoon currently lives at Rose-Hill, Mauritius and is a freelance literary translator and an interview editor of Asian Signature journal.
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