Mukesh Williams

Sweet Potatoes

Running below the surface
Of Yucatán peninsula,
Spreading tuberous rhizomes,
Throughout the habitable land, and
Creating a tubercle of provision,
You, truffle over coal briquettes,
Burning starch into malt sugar
Hanging upside down by wire loops
In burning unglazed jars,
Baked by dexterous hands,
Flipped on itinerant carts,
Cosseted as a delicacy,
You force us to believe that
Sweetness is all.

Mukesh Williams has been published in The Copperfield Review, Muse India, Centrifugal Eye, The Blue Fog Journal of Poetry, Foliate Oak, Plankton, Istanbul Literary Review, The Mainich Daily News and Best Poem. His poetry possesses a startling mixture of Japanese minimalism and Foucaldian coups. His works have been quoted in reputed journals from The Journal of Commonwealth Literature to The Other Voices International Project. He is listed in Marquis Who’s Who and the World Poetry Directory of UNESCO 2008. Williams has published two books of poems, Nakasendo and Other Poems 2006 and Moving Spaces, Changing Places 2007. His co-authored book Representing India 2008 has been favorably reviewed in the media. He teaches at Keio University-SFC and can be contacted through his blog site.