Caved

When I learnt from the guide book that
the hills have been scooped out for creating these caves,
I felt the renewed force of the chisel working
the air around me and making way for my 
superficial meditations. When I looked at the ceiling 
sculpted and painted centuries before Michelangelo,
an ache ran down my back twisted by the forceps of Time.
The ghouls, gods and the ordinary dancers on the panels
hopped me across centuries and the rock itself for a moment 
turned into fabric waving in a timeless wind. 
A flag of longevity raised in stone.


(Ajanta, Ellora)