Far away, beyond the boundless Oceans

In lands alien, Perhaps

For more moolah and succour,

To tide over

The dearth of food and clothing.

Ah! ecstatic images emerge…

Somewhere deep in the hearts of villages

Several new houses erected

With newly earned wealth, abroad

One who returns…

For a glimpse of

Near and dear ones.

As one sets foot,

In lands native

Bonhomie sets in…

Villages enliven with  festive celebration,

Dust raising village roads,

Singing and Dancing to reverberating drums,

Immersed in the fragrance of Paddy Fields

Oh! So, mesmerizing

How did one settle

In yonder lands foreign?

Here still lives, the poor

On grounds parched,

With  dreams unfulfilled!

Here Markets conjure up illusions

to the deception of sentinels,

Authority charters policies,

Seemingly  intimidating

What would one gain ,

Returning?

Two doors unfasten…

In directions obverse

One to fathom within,

One to traverse outside.

                                                              ~Dr. Usha Rani Rao

                                                               Bangalore, India

                                                                     Translated in English by Dr. Kavita Shastri