The great leader's shadow

I went to see the great leader’s statue,
    but it was too hot, so I stepped
into his shadow.
Immediately, I heard the tinkle
      of a stream.
When my eyes adjusted to the darkness
    I made out a young boy, with his goat.
He smiled at my surprise. He spat out the blade
    of grass he was chewing, and said,
It takes a while to get used to the darkness;
You’ll be able to see more
   as your eyes fill up with the void.
There are many of us
        and more keep coming.
We spend most of the day in the shadow,
    and move across the landscape
      from west to east.
Where is the stream, I asked.
That’s the sound of all the streams
   that went dry, he said.
Are you a ghost, I asked,
   and then seeing the hurt in his eyes,
I mumbled that it was unhealthy to live
     away from the sunlight. The boy smiled
and lifted his foot.
The sun was shining
             under his soles.
 That is where the grass was growing.

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Salil Chaturvedi
salilwheels@gmail.com