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Thursday, September 6, 2012

Together Lie the Dead, by Anita Ram

At the market
Amidst the colors,
Yells of street vendors,
The aroma of spices
The hot, thick air
Lie the dead.

Past the patty fields,
Where workers bathe in the sun
Harvesting rice
For their masters,
Lie the dead.

Along the unpaved roads,
On which the cattle roam,
To graze beside the stone-cut steps
Of an abandoned shrine
Lie the dead.

Behind the straw-thatched roofs
Of small village shanties,
Where children play outside
In the dirt
Lie the dead.

Together they exist
Live together, talk together
Breathe together, breed together.
Yet at the market
Behind the shanties
Past the patty fields
Along the roads
Together lie the dead.