TRAIN FROM PAKISTAN

This poem first appeared here in the March 2014 issue of the Online magazine THE BROWSING CORNER.



The night seemed to be

 

absolutely quiet

as if mourning the loss

which human hearts

were too small to comprehend

 

the train cutting through

the dark fields

smelled of fear and

brewing hatred

 

the brakes halted the train

and stopped the heartbeats

under bundles of rags

he huddled under a berth

as his older brother

covered his mouth

 

the hot crimson drops

drip on his forehead

all night

every night

for 67 years

 

a childhood

trapped

on a train

from Pakistan !