 |
Paddy Field
Words that hold the world together
Touches that erupt in vibration
Breaths that rip apart air textures
Tears that moist the sandy soil
Heartbeats that overtake passing vehicles
Filled with people, cattle and chattels
Passing by our smashed bodies
Laying bare on a paddy field
In a land filled with fear
Our blood soaking our clothes
Covering our ripped entrails
Recolouring plants and nature
From green to red
From brown to black
From life to death
Masses move forward
Towns and villages pass us
Lives beyond us
Run away from us
Leaving behind
What is left of us
Pieces of emotions
Pieces of memories
Pieces of bodies
Mingled together
In a soup we called
Life
My hands in hers
Her limbs in mine
Her tears are mine
Ignoring our suffering
Ignoring our ugliness
Ignoring our beauty
In Death
They move forward
Beyond us
Away from us
Away from fear
Away from pain
Away from life
Into the death
That awaits them
Across the lagoon
And has caught
The two of us
On this paddy field
When I told her
That I’ll protect her
From pain and sorrow
Death and terror
Where life sprouts
Through seeds
That feed the living
Not the dying
Our screams have silenced
We breathe silently
In constant rhythm
Our fear has evaporated
With the fire unleashed
On our hearts and bodies
Our shapeless bodies
Mingling with nature
Like burnt plants
Cleared trees
And slaughtered animals
Watching the
Birdless
Cloudless
Godless
Sky
I realize
I need to hold her
To help her die
In the peace
We never had
And dreamed to live in
But only found in death
With her fingers in mine.
A poem by Sinthujan Varatharajah (see his Twitter account here), recited at 'Raise Your Voice' held at the London School of Economics earlier this month.
Illustration by Ramiya Lakshman. See more of her work on her website and Facebook page BigMe Designs.