I’m riding the Kerala highway
with Father Thomas
the Indian Orthodox priest driving
in his white cassock and honking his horn
at rickshaws and sacred cows criss-crossing
the road as we pass over the Pampa River
that connects the people and land
with Christian, Muslim, Hebrew and Hindu
temples, mosques, synagogues and shrines
while listening to Elvis singing
“Don’t you step on my blue suede shoes”