Fatherland

This dense land calms me

with its long narrow walking lanes,

hard soil with coarse trees

and the feel of my father’s steps

In that plot on my right I could see

joys of communal farming, places

where toddy fell on the ground and

the little smiles around that patch

I forget the harsh sounds that

echo in my years of my father’s name

being called by kids half his age

stripped naked without a respectful tail

I forget the mounts that my mother climbed

and insults she took while hungry and tired

with me in her belly and mind

and her futile dreams of happiness and light

And I measure each sound here, each breath

in this land, study the dead bodies and

the live ones. To learn the secret of the beasts

who raped this paradise of warmth