We Are Simple Village Folks

When birds move in circle Above temples domes The folks, from fields, sweating Return to their homes When shadows lie straight Upon fields and dales Clouds leave behind them Leave slender smoky trails When holding pails on waists Lasses trod to the spring Children run past ground Leaving marbles and swing When smoke rises in columns From rooftops towards the sky At the edge of thick grove Last streak of light fades away When silence spreads its wings Upon streets and steps Lamps are lit and hung from roofs Walls hold shadows of weird shapes When before eyes of gods Folks ask for forgiveness For the sins done to come out From life’s confusing mess When from the stoic hills Wind flows cold and thin Cows doze in the sheds of mud Dogs lie in corners and whine When with glamour of a bride Moon begins its deliberate flight In its charm meteors rush down To die in an immense height When sprinkling water on faces Mothers wash away fatigue of the day With folded hands family lines up To mutter hymns and pray When verandahs overflow with Stories of ghosts, love and fairies The marching of princes to kingdoms Of lovers with medals and glories When night surreptitiously drapes A blanket of sleep on the eyes Saying prayers of the parting on beds Simple folks bid the world good-byes.