Exile, Three Poems Poem by Devesh Path Sariya

(1) Exiled

In the face of even the slightest possibility,
their longing grew for a chance,
to sell whatever they could,
in a bid to remain rooted in their homelands.

But circumstances demanded they leave it all behind,
freeing animals from their tethers.
Someone else will keep them,
only as long as they prove useful.

They carried a meager collection of belongings,
a few garments and coins tucked away,
along with precious water and flour.

Some loaded their possessions onto a mule,
departing with heavy hearts,
while others boarded ships,
taking whatever they could salvage.

Their trust in God, humanity, and luck shattered,
they now share the same destiny
as these mules and the ships they embarked upon.

They would follow the path determined by the mules,
traversing wherever green grass and leaves beckoned,
or they would surrender to the whims of the wind,
ending up wherever their ship was carried.

(2) Pollens of home

Aware that they won't live long enough
to witness a brighter world,
nor return to their cherished homeland,
yet hope, tenacious as ever, persists.

In their slumber, they find solace,
revisiting their home in vivid dreams.

In this foreign land they now inhabit,
they sow seeds of plants reminiscent of home.
They tend to the garden,
warding off stray animals that seek to intrude.

They welcomed birds to perch upon the plants,
watching them play in their gardens
Perhaps, these birds carried with them
pollen from the very place
that was once their cherished home.

(3) The Dilemma

Even if the return to their homeland becomes possible,
they will find themselves in a intricate situation

They very much fancy the idea
of getting the ancestral land and houses
nestled in their old memories back,
but how fair would it be
to oust those who must be living there now?

Nascent memories formed by new inhabitants
must be floating in the air there
And who, if not they, can truly comprehend
how does it feel to be sucked out of life 
and flung to a place unknown.

(Translation from Hindi by Shivam Tomar)