Tidying Rice Stalks at Noon

Here’s a poignant portrait of a man toiling in the paddy fields, in this verse, by Abu – exclusively for Different Truths.

A patch of golden paddy fields,
Blazing noon,
A man is binding rice stalks all alone.
 
Knee-bent,
He is toasting in the sun,
And binding row after row
 
A treeless stretch of land,
Newly built homes are ready to leap
Into its frayed sides
 
Ten rows remain to be tied,
In his rage, he smokes a beedi,
And beats the rays.
 
A farmer will work in his field,
It's true,
But is he destined to burn in his land?
 
Who has stolen his trees?
Who has kept him at bars?
Where are his friends on the field?
 
The glistening paddy field,
The burning day,
The man is tidying stalks in his streak of land.

Picture design by Anumita Roy