Written piece
The Morning Mend
Raj Sharma
India
About this piece
Set against the morning sounds of the Gayatri Mantra and school prayers in India, this poem celebrates the 'knot' as a site of resilience. Using the imagery of mending a dhoti with mehndi-stained hands, it honors the beauty of what is broken, then bound back together.
The tension thins the tether to a silver-thin ache,
A white-knuckle stretch across the bleached cotton of a dhoti,
where the fiber turns brittle and tired under the rising sun.
There is no warning, just the sudden, hollow thud of a snap—
leaving us with two frayed ends and the quiet of a line gone slack.
But the mind doesn't stop where the thread decided to quit.
As the Gayatri Mantra drifts from the temple, a low, golden hum,
and the school assembly rises in the distance—a chorus of young voices—
we lean into the work. Gold bangles clink against the wrist,
mehndi-stained fingers fumbling the loop with a practiced grace.
Through the scent of a fresh gajra tucked into the hair,
and the sharp, sweet perfume of Raat ki Rani lingering from the night,
we tuck the stray whiskers of cotton under, finding the cinch.
Look at the line now—it is scarred, stubborn, and slightly uneven,
a knot that sits like a knuckle where the grip finally holds for good.
Glossary: Dhoti (traditional garment); Gayatri Mantra (sacred chant); Mehndi (henna); Gajra (flower garland); Raat ki Rani (Night-blooming Jasmine).