A home to welcome the new year
In the corner under the bridge buzzing with unsightly flies
Is the home of 4 strangers I never met
All I can see from where I am
Is the wax of candles which once lit the darkness
Now all that remains is the shadows
In the wind a few fragments of clothes dance
I see the mother beside the small fire wiping her forehead
And the little naked sister whose tiny eyes flood the room
And the brother sits with the sister on his skinny legs and protrude stomach
Which doesn’t remember the last time it was fed
And the father scrunches his nose to the reek of garbage dump beside the shed
But how far should I trust my eyes?
The room echoes with the boys songs to help her sister have a peaceful sleep
The mother swings her saree to wind her children while the sweat trips of her chin
The father opens the window to let his wife’s black tarred hair not stick on her back
Through the little window left open
I see a tenacious grip to each others fingers
A stale of bread lay on the plate
They close their eyes look up at the night sky
“May the next year bring more happiness”
Poetry of love by Oindrila Pal