The demon’s features are all
woman
woman’s features are all
demon
Demon language
is poetry
Poetry’s features are all
saint
become woman
become poet
become demon
Demon language
is liberty
Outside Earth
she stands:
niili, wicked woman.
* The reference throughout this poem is to Karaikkal Ammai, one of the sixty-three canonized Saiva saints, who lived in the 6th century CE. Punithavathy (the ‘sacred’ or ‘holy’), as she was known in the world, was abandoned by her husband when he realized her extraordinary qualities. She then renounced her youth and beauty, took the form of a demon, and became a poet-saint devoted only to Siva.