The Smell of Corpses in the Air
artwork by t h lisa
Even today I can smell corpses in the air,Even today I discern Death's naked dance in the soil,
In my trance I still hear the whimper of a raped woman--
Has this country forgotten that nightmare night, that bloody time? The smell of corpses float in the air,
The soil is stained with blood.
Those who girded themselves touching this blood-stained dust,
Searching for a forbidden darkness amid a tattered life
Today they lie in cages awake in night's dark caves As if ashamed of a wasted life huddle young mothers
Independence--is it a wasted birth?
Is it the shameful fatherless issue of a mother? Our flag clutched tightly today by that old vulture! The smell of corpses in the air--
Yet the dancers sway their flesh in the neon light.
The soil is stained with blood--
And the bones of the starving pile up in rice godowns. These eyes cannot sleep. I do not sleep the entire night.
In my trance I hear the cry of a ravished woman,
Rotting corpses floating like water-hyacinths in rivers,
The body of a headless girl eaten by dogs
Floats before my eyes--I cannot sleep, I
cannot sleep … Wrapped up in a bloody shroud--eaten by dogs and vultures, He is my brother, she is my mother, it is my beloved father.
Independence--my near and dear I found after a long search,
Independence--my harvest bought with the blood of my loves.
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