The Stride

Standing on one leg, arms reaching up hair piled high in unkempt yogi knots a tree peers down and the more he sees the more he is amazed. The woman who goes door to door baby on her hip washing dishes and at night sleeps on a mat under a tree the woman discarded by her husband disdained even by death. Oh how shameful! She’s pregnant again. At the water tap to cover up that shame he toddles up carefully to hand his mother the tattered sari a tiny life crowned by shame why, just the other day he used to crawl on the pavement! Which means On this earth one more pair of eyes one more head held high arms like the wings of a bird swinging on either side will stride through feet firmly on the ground Standing on one leg forever in the same spot the tree with arms outstretched and hair in yogi knots peers down and the more he sees the more he is amazed [Translated by Antara Dev Sen]