An hour away from Home (Tanka Sequence)

no longer
did she feel hunger or pain
only a voice
in her head chattered on
'an hour's walk more, just an hour'


braving thirst
and unsparing sun
they returned home...
all but little Makdam
she left for a land unknown


like a wind-up toy
she staggered and fell...
so near she came
so far she remained
an hour away from home



[A 12-year-old girl named Jamlo Makdam died after walking nearly 150 km from Telangana to her native district in Chhattisgarh, because of the extended nationwide lockdown to fight coronavirus. She worked in chilli fields to earn for her family.]

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