Gypsies

                                                                         

They are gypsies

bright, crisp and colorful,

like the blossoms in the desert.

 

The entire earth is tied to their feet like an anklet,

and they, like their living folklore,

never stayed in one place.

 

On the sleeves of the winding roads

under the barren skies,

they sound like their empty vessels

on silent nights,

 

They bring shrubs,

leaves of palm and dates,

to make a roof for the hot summer days,

 

They cast statues, and sell them

in the bustling streets of cities, towns

and villages,

 

They come and go,

they will go back again,

leaving the smell of their millets

in the ashes of their hearths,

 

and the melody of their songs

lingering in the winds.

 

They are gypsies,

bright, crisp and colorful,

like the blossoms in the deserts.

 

© Kalpna Singh-Chitnis,

 

A poem on Gypsies living in the Thar desert of India, from the poetry collection “Tafteesh Jari Hai” (The Investigation Continues), translated into English from original Hindi).