Listen to the world’s best poetry read out loud.

My great grandmother stopped each day 

at the St Alphonsa shrine 

on Brodie’s Road in Madras. 

Just in case 

saints were a bit like 

local goddesses– 

extravagant and moody 

Just in case 

this miracle healer 

of an infant’s club foot 

could pardon 

her unruly children’s trespasses 

Just in case 

a saint with a foreign name 

was better 

at blessing 

a family that kept spilling 

over definitions, 

over borders 

Just in case 

Alphonsamma felt left out 

when others surged 

around the Murugan shrine. 

Just in case 

the elders were right 

Just in case 

the elders were wrong 

And then we lost our great grandmothers 

And we lost just in case