I imagine I am
A thousand miles from home
My wife calls to tell me
My son is ill
I start to walk home
To Begusarai from Delhi
No food to eat
Blisters on my feet
I walk for three days
Praying
When I hear the news
Of my son’s death
I am Rampukar Pandit
I imagine I am
Waiting for the trains to start
Waiting waiting waiting
Along with my friends who are also
Waiting waiting waiting
We realise that
The trains are not going to start for us
And so we begin our journey
On foot
Along the tracks
So that we don’t lose our way
Sleep every night between the rails
Wake every morning and
Walk walk walk
Sleep every night between the rails
Until one day
The trains do start
And mow us down
I am Pradeep Singh Gond
I imagine I am
A twelve year old girl
Working in the chilli fields
Far away from home
When the lockdown deprives me of my job
And I start walking home
Walking walking walking
Hungry
All the time
Until
I fall down dead
I am Jamlo Madkam
I imagine I am a poem
A thousand verses long
Each verse ending in death and disaster
I collapse with the weight of this
Unbearable grief
I am Mother India