Monday, October 21, 2019

Pappu




dear Pappu,the whole world is yours, by the way.

yes, you may miss a little glimpse
of our village-temple’s god, the Thakoreji,
we all labored to build brick by brick.

a bowl of water from the village-well,
your young uncle died beneath while digging it.

the playground at the village crossroads,
your brother swept so clean.

the sweet fruits of that orchard
i planted while I was pregnant with you.

the flames of the holi of savarnasy our father lighted
as a ritual servant
which we get to see from the top of our huts.

the mouth-watering taste of the sweetmeats
cooked on diwali in the house of our kanbi-master,
whose names i dare not know and you would ask me repeatedly.

the friendship of the son of our village-headman
you very much long to play tops with.

the nagar-bride you will like to fall in love with
when you reach your adolescence
looking at her heena-dyed feet.

dear Pappu,
the whole world is yours, by the way.
not only the earth, but the sun and the moon are yours,
except such little earthly things
that we are not allowed by our caste-Hindu patrons !

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