Seducers, teasers
who shamelessly seduce and tease
their readers
until they fully
submit themselves.
They talk dirty,
softly
blow into their ears,
whisper
sweet little things,
tell them about the
sound that the
ocean makes.
The salty breeze,
stars at night,
the full tide,
shells on the sea shore,
moonlight,
footprints
on the sand.
Just then,
they let go off the
reader’s hand,
drown them
in the ocean, and
leave.

# # #

Prerna Bakshi is a writer, poet and activist. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee and the author of the recently released book, Burnt Rotis, With Love, which was long-listed for the 2015 Erbacce-Press Poetry Award in the UK. Her work has been published widely, most recently in The Ofi Press, Red Wedge Magazine, TRIVIA: Voices of Feminism and Peril magazine: Asian-Australian Arts & Culture, as well as anthologized in several collections. More here:  http://prernabakshi.strikingly.com/